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BIOGRAPHICAL. SKETCH 



AND SERVICES 



OF 



COMMODORE 



CHARLES STEWART, 






OF THE 



NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PHILADELPHIA. 

PR INT ED BY J. HA K DING. 



s/ 1838 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, 



AND SERVICES 



COMMODORE CHARLES STEWART, 



NWY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED BY J. HARDING. 
1838 



e: 



■553 






INTRODUCTION. 



Pennsylvania may justly claim the honor of having contributed as 
largely to the proud list of American philosophers, statesmen and heroes, 
as any other State in the Union ; and yet, in consequence of the pecu- 
liarly unostentatious and unpretending character of her people, she has 
hitherto forborne to assume the rank, or lay claim to the honor, to which 
the merits and services of her sons justly entitle her. Reposing on the 
justice of this claim, and upon the concession that she is the "keystone" 
of the federal arch, and that her honest, industrious and patriotic yeo- 
manry are unrivalled in all the attributes that render a State great^ 
prosperous and happy, she has never singled out from the constellation 
of her sons, for especial commendations, the "bright and shining" stars 
with which that constellation is adorned. 

What a galaxy of glory is concentrated in the names of Franklin,* 
Rittenhouse, Rush, Fulton, Morris, M'Kean, Wayne, Brown, Decatur, 
James Biddle, and Stewart! How proudly do we point to this array of 
illustrious citizens! The world will perceive in this list the genius who 
snatched the lightning from the skies ; the man who went deep into the 
mysteries of creation, and 

"Looked through nature up to nature's God;" 
and he who, with a skill which has rendered him immortal, encountered 
death at the sick man's bed, and stayed his uplifted arm: and he who, 
by a certain modification of machinery, the result of his own all-con- 
quering genius, has filled the waters with steamboats, and created a 
new agent in the application of steam power; he who rescued the coun- 
try from impending bankruptcy, in the period of the Revolution ; and 
he who rivalled the Cokes and Mansfields of England, and brought 
order, harmony and effect out of the confusion of the law ; and he who 
was the hero of Stony Point, the hero of Fort Erie, and the conqueror 
of the Macedonian — the conqueror of the Penguin, and the conqueror 
of the Cyane and Levant, were all Pennsylvanians. We are well 
aware that the fame of these men belongs to the State, and that the 

* Though born in Boston, Pennsylvania was the theatre of his glory. 



IV 

humblest of its citizens inherits a portion of their renown. The pohcy 
of Pennsylvania has been to appeal, not to her great men, but to her 
free institutions — her peaceful and prosperous people — to her stupen- 
dous public improvements, and her agricultural, and almost boundless 
mineral wealth, for the evidences of her lofty and merited rank and 
power in the Union. For herself, as a Stale, she has claimed much, 
and it has all been cheerfully accorded — yet she has been slow in forc- 
ing the claims of her distinguished sons, forgetting the beautiful example 
of the Roman mother, who, when asked for her jewels^ proudly point- 
ed to her children. 

The writer of this sketch has deemed these observations due, not 
only to Pennsylvania, but to himself, and to the subject of this biogra- 
phy. In presenting to the public a brief sketch of the life of Commo- 
dore Charles Stewart^ it is but simple justice to him to trace to the 
unobtrusive character of his native State, that apparent indifference to 
his history which has suffered a long life of faithful services, amidst the 
toils and perils of the sea, and of battles, to remain so long unwritten. 
We cannot doubt that the following hasty notices of the life of this dis- 
tinguished son of Pennsylvania, which are designed to supply this de- 
ficiency, will be an acceptable offering to our fellow citizens, not of 
Pennsylvania only, but of the Union. The facts detailed belong to his- 
tory, and the only objects aimed at, in their publication, is to dissemi- 
nate truth, and perform an act of justice to a meritorious and successful 
vindicator of the rights of our common country, and a distinguished 
contributor to her renown — For, 

" Thro' fire and smoke, and wind and wave, 
On every sea Britannia call'd her own," 

he has for forty years, gallantly and triumphantly borne the flag of his 
country. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, &c. 



The position of Commodore Charles Stewart has been, for many 
years, one of great distinction. His name and services are associated 
with many leading events in which the glory of his country, and his 
own fame, are blended. To find materials for a brief memoir of this 
distinguished citizen, we have had recourse to biographical sketches of 
his compatriots ; to official documents, and to history. It is not our 
purpose to enter into a minute biographical detail of Commodore Ste- 
wart's eventful life, but to give to his fellow-citizens a summary of his 
public services. 

Charles Stewart was born in the city of Philadelphia, on the twenty- 
eighth of July, 1778, the month after the British army evacuated the city. 
His parents were natives of Ireland. It was his misfortune to lose his 
father before he had attained his second year. He was the youngest of 
eight children. On the death of his father, his mother was left, in the 
midst of the Revolution, with four children to provide for, and with 
limited means for their support and education. Being a woman of talents 
and great energy, she was not found wanting in this arduous task. 

At the age of thirteen, Charles sought and found employment in the 
merchant service, in which he gradually rose, through the several grades, 
from the situation of cabin boy, to the command of an Indiaman; and 
here, in the full tide of successful mercantile enterprise, he relinquished 
all that he had toiled for, and offered himself to the service of his coun- 
try. On the ninth of March, 1798, he was commissioned Lieutenant in 
the Navy of the United States, and received orders to join the frigate 
United States, then in command of Commodore John Barry. He con- 
tinued in this ship until July, 1800. Part of this time the frigate was 
employed in the West Indies, to look after and restrain the French pri- 
vateers, and to protect our commerce against their depredations, in 
which service she was eminently successful. In the latter part of the 
year the frigate was engaged in transporting the commissioners for 
treating with France to that country, and was thus deprived of the 
opportunity which, under other circumstances, might have led to other 
and higher honors. 

On the sixteenth of July, 1800, Lieutenant Stewart was appointed 
to the command of the U. S. schooner Experiment, of twelve guns, in 
which he sailed on a cruise to the West Indies, having under his com- 
mand those distinguished officers, Porter, Caldwell, and Tripp. Arriv- 



ing on the station assigned him, he fell in with, on the night of Septem- 
ber the first, the French armed schooner Deux Amis, (Two Friends,) of 
eight guns, and brought her to action, which terminated in ten minutes: 
the Deux Amis having struck her colors, she was sent to the United 
States for condemnation. Being short of water, he proceeded to Prince 
Rupert's Bay, in the Island of Dominica, and while there, watering his 

vessel, his Britannic Majesty's ship , Captain Nash, accompanied 

by his Majesty's ship Siam, Captain Matson, arrived, and anchored; 
soon after which, Lieutenant Stewart received a letter from a citizen 
of the United States, named Amos Seeley, stating that he had been 
impressed on board the British ship Siam, and claiming an interference 
for his release. Although Lieutenant Stewart's power was inadequate 
to enforce his demand for the surrender of Seeley, the two ships mount- 
ing twenty guns each, his patriotic heart could not withstand the appeal 
of his countryman, and, prompted by that chivalry and patriotism which 
were destined to blaze out in after life so gloriously, he resolved on 
opening a correspondence with the British Captain for the release of 
Seeley. A polite note was addressed by Lieutenant Stewart, to the 
senior officer, conveying the request that Amos Seeley might be trans- 
ferred from his Majesty's ship Siam to the schooner under his command; 
that he might be restored to his family and his home. The British cap- 
tain demurred, but in answer requested a personal interview, wherein 
he remarked to Lieutenant Stewart that the war in which his Majesty 
was engaged was arduous ; that the difficulty of obtaining men for his 
numerous fleets and ships of war was great, and that he should encoun- 
ter great hazard of being censured by his government should he lessen 
his force by yielding up his men; urging, moreover, that the example 
would be injurious to the service. Lieutenant Stewart replied, in sub- 
stance, that the British officers had too long trampled on the rights and 
liberties of his countrymen, and it was high time they had learned to 
respect the rights and persons of an independent nation ; that, whatever 
power his Majesty claimed over his own subjects, he had no right to 
exercise it over a people who had forced him to acknowledge their in- 
dependence; that to resume this power was to belie his own solemn act, 
and practice a deception on the world. It was stated in answer, that 
Seeley was impressed in England as an Englishman ; to which. Lieu- 
tenant Stewart replied — '-Then prove him so, and I have done ; but if 
you cannot, I am prepared to prove him a citizen of the United States." 
Whereupon, it was agreed to surrender him; and Seeley was put on 
board the schooner. 

The Experiment, having obtained her supply of water, left the Bay, 
and continued her cruise under the lee of Barbuda. At daylight on the 
thirtieth of September, two sails w^ere discovered, bearing down on the 
Experiment, with all sail set, and English colors hoisted. The Experi- 
ment continued laying too, with the British signal of the day flying, un- 
til they approached within gun-shot, when, finding one to be a brig of 



war of eighteen guns, and the other a three-masted schooner of fourteen 
guns, and that they would not answer the signal, Lieutenant Stewart 
determined to retreat from such superior force, and avail himself of any 
opportunity that might offer for cutting off one of those vessels. It 
was soon discovered that the Experiment could outsail them, and after 
a fruitless chase of two hours, on the wind, they gave up pursuit, hoist- 
ed French colors, fired a gun of defiance to windward, and kept their 
vessels off before the wind. He, being now satisfied of their character 
and force, manoeuvred to gain their wake to windward, and thus became 
the pursuing vessel in his turn. Sail was crowded on the Experiment 
and at about eight o'clock at night she came up with the three-masted 
schooner, (then the sternmost vessel,) and taking a position on her lar- 
board quarter, poured in a broadside. In a few minutes, the three- 
masted schooner struck her colors, and surrendered to the Experiment. 
She proved to be the French national schooner Diana, of fourteen guns, 
commanded by Captain Perandeau ; Lieutenant de Vaisseau, with a 
detachment of thirty invalid soldiers, and a crew of sixty-five men, and 
General Rigaud, on board, on his way to France, under the convoy of 
the brig of war, which made her escape, and got into Saint Bartholo- 
mew. The prize was despatched to the United States, under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant James R. Caldwell, and was restored to the French 
under an article of the treaty, but the captors were never compensated 
by the Government for this vessel, as others were in many cases. 

After disposing of the prisoners at St. Christopher, Lieutenant Stew- 
art continued on his cruising ground, and recaptured a number of 
American vessels which had been taken by the French, and thus res- 
cued a considerable amount of valuable commerce from the grasp of 
their privateers — amongst which was the brig Zebra, of Baltimore, cap- 
tured by the Flambeau privateer, of sixteen guns, and in her company 
at the time; the wind was so light, and the day so nearly over before he 
could approach, that he could only cut off the Zebra, and the Flam- 
beau made her escape, under cover of the night, and reached Guada- 
loupe. 

On the sixteenth of November, at midnight, he iell in with an armed 
vessel, and after repeatedly hailing and requesting her to heave-to that 
a boat might board her for the purpose of ascertaining her character, 
and receiving no answer or other satisfaction, he determined to bring 
her to action, and try his force to compel a compliance. The vessel 
kept up a running fight with great spirit and determination, for forty 
minutes, when she became so cut up and crippled by the Experiment's 
fire, that she was obliged to strike and submit to be boarded. She 
proved to be the Louisa Bridger, of Bermuda, carrying eight nine- 
pounders, with a stout crew of Bermudians. She was so much cut up 
that the officers and crew of the Experiment were occupied until three 
o'clock next day in repairing her damages j having two shot through 
her bottom, she was almost in a sinking condition, and when Lieuten- 



8 

ant Porter boarded her, was found to have four feet water in the hold. 
After putting her in the best repair that circumstances admitted, Lieu- 
tenant Stewart dismissed her on her cruise. The Experiment had only 
one killed (the boatswain) and two wounded slightly. The wind, dur- 
ing the action, was strong and squally, and the Experiment careened so 
much, that Lieutenant Stewart, to enable his guns to be sufficiently de. 
pressed, found it necessary to cut three inch planks into short lengths, 
and put them under the trucks of the gun carriages, to raise the guns 
sufficiently from the lower port sills. 

On the return of the Experiment to St. Christopher, Commodore 
Truxton ordered Lieutenant Stewart to proceed with a convoy from 
Martinique to the island of St. Thomas, and thence to Curacoa, to look 
for the United States brig Pickering, and frigate Insurgent, but nothing 
could be heard of those vessels at that place; they had both foundered 
in the equinoxial gale, u'ith a store ship under their care, and all hands 
perished. On leaving Curacoa, the Experiment was ordered to proceed 
to Norfolk. Standing in for the Mona passage, early in the morning, a 
vessel was discovered in distress, and beating on the reef off Saona Isl- 
and. On nearing her, many persons were discovered to be on board. 
After anchoring the Experiment at a safe distance from the reef, he 
despatched Lieutenant Porter with the boats to their relief, who, with 
much difficulty and danger from the breakers on the reef, succeeded in 
rescuing from destruction about sixty women and children, with seven 
men of the vessel's crew. They were the families of the most respec- 
table inhabitants of St. Domingo, flying from the siege of that city by 
the blacks. They had been on the rocks for two days, without any 
thing to eat or drink ; and at the time of their rescue, only a small 
portion of the quarter deck was above water. After the sailors had 
recovered as much of the property as they could, by diving into the ves- 
sel's hold, the Experiment proceeded to the city of St. Domingo with 
the rescued persons, where they were all landed the next day, and re- 
stored to their friends. Their gratitude was unbounded, and the Ex- 
periment was most liberally furnished, gratis, with every refreshment 
the place afforded. The President of St. Domingo wrote a letter of 
thanks to the President of the United States (Mr. Jefferson) of which 
the following is a copy. 

Translation of a Letter from Don Joaquin Garcia, Governor of 
the Spanish part of St. Domingo, to the President of the United 
States. 

Sir: — The great humanity (the offspring of a magnanimous breast) 
of a military officer of the United States, deserves the greatest ap- 
plause and consideration from me and my vrhole nation. It was dis- 
played in his recent conduct towards two numerous families who were 
removing from this city to Porto Rico, and composed of many small chil- 
dren and ladies of quality. 



This officer is Charles Stewart, Esq., captain of the armed schooner. 
Experiment, who, whilst the accidents of the sea threatened to over- 
whelm him, observed that near the Island of Saona, a schooner, with a 
multitude of women and children, cried out for help to save themselves 
from becoming the unhappy victims of the tempest, or of the want of 
nautical skill in Captain Christian Graneman, a Dane, who, in the hard- 
ness of bis heart, strove to save his person and eflfects, by going on shore 
and leaving so many human creatures exposed to the turbulence of the 
waves, an extremity which presented to them a near prospect of death. 

This brave and generous officer, his crew, and all under his com- 
mand, impelled by humanity, alertly strove to save these wretched la- 
dies, and succeeded. A few moments after their safety was accom- 
plished, the schooner sank. Amid thanks, vows, and lamentations, this 
worthy officer learnt that Captain Christian was on the mountain of 
Saona, with his efTects. Without neglecting the ladies, he endeavored 
to secure a wretch, who ought not to live among mankind. This he ef- 
fected, and, through the humanity of the ladies, used no greater severi- 
ty towards him than to take him on board and bring him, well secured, 
to this capital, lie treated the ladies with the greatest courtesy, ac- 
commodating them with his cabin, his table, and every convenience. 

They have requested me to communicate these circumstances to your 
Excellency, and that in their names, I should present to you their cor- 
dial thanks, assuring you that it is an action which will remain forever 
impressed on their hearts. For myself, and in the name of my nation, 
and of all who know of the occurrence, worthy of so cultivated a na- 
tion and of an officer of the United States, I present you my thanks 
with that sincerity which belongs to my character ; and I shall have 
the honor to render an account of it to my master, the king of Spain, 
in order that such an action may redound to the honor of this officer, of 
his flag, and of all his brave and generous crew. 

God preserve you many years. 

May it please your Excellency, 

Joaquin Garcia. 
Santa Domingo, Jan. 21, 1801. 

On the arrival of the Experiment, in 1801, at Norfolk, she was sold 
out of the service, under the act of Congress fixing the Naval Es- 
tablishment. Lieutenant Stewart was amongst the thirty-six lieuten- 
ants retained under that law, and was placed in charge of the frigate 
Chesapeake, in ordinary, at Norfolk. In the following year, 1802, he 
joined the U. S. frigate Constellation, as first officer of Captain Murray, 
who was ordered to the Mediterranean to blockade Tripoli, then at war 
with the United States. This was a short cruise of one year, and af- 
forded no opportunity for the ship or officers to distinguish themselves. 
On her return to the United States, Lieutenant Stewart was placed in 
command of the brig Siren, then being built at Philadelphia, and re- 
2 



10 

ceived orders to superintend her. Her equipment was effected in seven 
days after she was launched, when she sailed for the Mediterranean to 
join the command of Commodore Preble. She was engaged giving pro- 
tection to our commerce by convoy, and conveying the Consular pre- 
sents to the Dey of Algiers. The squadron rendevouzed at Syracuse, 
in the island of Sicily. From that place the Siren was engaged in the 
expedition sent under Lieutenant Stewart to destroy the frigate Phila- 
delphia, which had grounded off the harbor of Tripoli, and was sur- 
rendered to the Bashav^'. Lieutenant Decatur was sent in the Intre- 
pid, ketch, with seventy volunteers, to board and burn the frigate, which 
he accomplished in the most gallant manner ; and, with the aid of the 
Siren's boats, under Lieutenant Caldwell, effected his retreat out of the 
harbor. After this successful expedition, the Siren, Lieutenant Stew- 
art, with the Vixen, Enterprise, and Nautilus, under his command, 
were employed in a rigid blockade of the city of Tripoli and the adja- 
cent harbors. During this period, the Greek ship, Catapoliana, and the 
British brig. Scourge, of twelve guns, were captured by the Siren, for 
a violation of the blockade. The ship was restored to the Greeks, and 
the brig put into the service of the United States by Commodore Pre- 
ble. During this blockade, Lieutenant Stewart frequently led in the 
vessels of the blockade to the attack of the batteries and flotilla, to ac- 
custom the officers and men to the enemy's fire, and to force the Tripo- 
litans to expend their ammunition ; and on one occasion, they attacked 
and destroyed two batteries the enemy had erected to the westward of 
the city, for the protection of their coasting trade. 

On the first of August, 1804, Commodore Preble arrived off Tripoli 
with the frigate Constitution, two bomb or mortar vessels, and six gun- 
boats — united with the Siren and Argus, brigs of eighteen guns, and the 
Nautilus, Vixen, and Enterprize, schooners of twelve guns, he deter- 
mined to attack the town, flotilla, and batteries of Tripoli. On the 
third, the wind proving favorable, at meridian the signal was made to 
prepare for battle, when the whole force, forming a line ahead, led on 
by the brig Siren, Lieutenant Stewart, advanced to the attack, and 
when within reach of the enemy's fire, the gun-boats were cast off; and 
immediately boarded the gun-boats of Tripoli, twenty of which were 
moored in a line, outside of the reef which formed the harbor. Three 
of them were carried, and brought ofi under cover of the vessels of 
war, and added to the American squadron. On this occasion were is- 
sued the following 

,^ GENERAL ORDERS. 

The gallant behavior of the officers, seamen, and marines of the 
squadron, in the action of yesterday with the enemies' batteries, gun- 
boats, and corsairs, claim from the Commodore, the warmest approba- 
tion and praise he can bestow. 

Captain Stewart of the Siren, Captain Hull of the Argus, and Cap- 



11 

tain Smith of the Vixen, will please to accept the Commodore's thanks, 
for the gallant manner in which they brought their vessels into action, 
and their prompt obedience to signals — particularly that to cover gun- 
boats and prizes. 

Captain Somers will please to accept the Commodore's thanks for the 
gallant conduct displayed by him in attacking five of the enemy's gun- 
boats within musket shot of the batteries, and obliging them to retreat 
after a warm conflict. 

The very distinguished judgment and intrepidity of Captain Decatur 
in leading his division of gunboats into action, in boarding, capturing, 
and bringing out from under the batteries, two of their gunboats, each 
of superior force, is particularly gratifying to the Commodore, and Cap- 
tain Decatur will be pleased to accept his thanks. 

Lieutenant Commandant Dent, and Lieutenant Robinson, command- 
ing the two bomb vessels, are entitled to the thanks of the Commodore 
for the judgment and bravery displayed by them in placing their ves- 
sels, and for the annoyance they gave the enemy. 

Lieutenant Lawrence of the Enterprize, and Lieutenant Read of the 
Nautilus, (commanding these vessels in the absence of their command- 
•ers,) merit the Commodore's thanks for their active exertions in towing 
and protecting prizes. 

The Commodore deeply regrets the death of the brave Lieutenant 
James Decatur, who nobly fell at the moment he had obliged an enemy 
of superior force to strike to him. 

Lieutenant Bainbridge, in pursuing into the harbor and engaging the 
enemy, and his conduct through the action, merits and receives the 
Commodore's thanks. 

Lieutenant Tripp will be pleased to accept thanks for the gallant 
conduct which distinguished him in boarding, capturing, and bringing 
out one of the enemy's gunboats of superior force, after having received 
eleven wounds. 

I have now to tender my warmest thanks to the lieutenants, sailing 
masters, marine officers, and other officers of the Constitution, for the 
prompt support I received from them. 

The conduct of the officers, seamen, and marines of the squadron, 
have, not only in the action of the third instant, but on every other 
occasion, merited the highest encomiums. 

Given on board U. S. Ship Constitution, at anchor off Tripoli, the 
fourth day of August, 1804. 

Signed, Edward Preble. 

For the whole of this month and part of September the city of Tri- 
poli and the batteries were kept under the fire of the squadron, and the 
bombardments of the mortar vessels — at least whenever the wind per- 
mitted the squadron to approach and retreat: they were invariably 
attacked day or night until several of their flotilla were sunk, the town 



12 

and batteries considerably injured, and many of the enemy were killed 
and wounded. The squadron, however, were not without their casual- 
, ties, whereby the Siren had three officers and eight seamen killed, and 
\thirteen wounded. After this distinguished service, Lieutenant Stewart 
was promoted to be master commandant, and placed in command of the 
frigate Essex, which vessel, after the conclusion of peace with Tripoli, 
proceeded with the rest of the squadron, commanded by Commodore 
Rogers, to Tunis Bay, for the purpose of checking in that regency a 
rising disposition to commence hostilities on the flag and commerce of 
the United States. The hostile attitude of the squadron, while there, 
induced Mr. George Davis, consul of the United States, to leave the city 
and seek refuge on board of the fleet. The state of our affairs now 
n Hrawing to a crisis so serious, it appeared to the Consul General, Colonel 
Lear, that the flag officer ought to strengthen his acts with the advice 
and consent of his principal officers; in consequence of which, the Com- 
mander-in-chief called a council, consisting of Captains Campbell, Deca- 
tur, Stewart, Hull, Smith, Dent, and Robinson, to whom the situation 
of our alfairs with the regency was explained, and the opinion of the 
officers demanded whether hostilities ought not to immediately com- 
mence. R was at this council that the opinion of Captain Stewart 
carried with it the assent of all the officers, and preserved the peace of 
the country with that regency. It was on receiving that opinion, as 
delivered in the council, transmitted by the Consul General and the 
Consul, Mr. Davis, to the President of the United States, that Mr. Jef- 
ferson expressed to his cabinet, the high satisfaction he felt at having 
an officer in the squadron who comprehended the international law, the 
constitution of his country, and the policy of his government. Captain 
Stewart gave it as his opinion, that there was no power under the Con- 
stitution of the United States which authorized hostilities and war on 
others, but that which was lodged exclusively with Congress; that the 
President of the United States could not exercise this power, without 
the action and authority of Congress, much less a commander of an 
American squadron; that due respect for the laws of Nations forbade 
aggression, and only justified self defence by vigilance and convoy for 
the protection of our citizens, their property and commerce; but where 
hostile attempts were made on either, he would be justified in seizing 
all persons engaged in them, but no farther would his country sanction 
his acts. The policy of the United States was at all times pacific, and 
especially so with a people remote from our country, with whom we 
must war with every disadvantage : that we had just terminated a war 
with one of those powers, even more insignificant and assailable than 
Tunis, at considerable expense — the loss of one frigate and several 
valuable lives: it was true, the enemy had been punished for forcing 
war on us; but might we not be punished through disaster, by forcing 
war upon Tunis; that their threats were well calculated to put us on 
our guard, but would not justify aggression. 



13 

This sound reasoning and discretion prevailed; our Consul was re- 
stored to his post, peace was continued, and the Bey of Tunis sent a 
special minister (Melley Melley,) to the United States, who received 
every satisfaction at the hands of Mr. Jefferson. On the termination of 
this affair with the regency of Tunis, Captain Stewart took command 
of the frigate Constellation and returned to the United States. On his 
arrival he was promoted to a post captaincy. i 

Navy Depart., 24 April, 1806. 
Sir: — It affords me real pleasure, to have it in my power to transmit 
to you, herewith, a commission, to which your honorable services so 
justly entitle you. 

I am, with great respect, sir, your most obedient servant, 

R. Smith. 
To Capt. Charles Stewart, Philadelphia. 

Navy Depart., April 30th, 1808. 

Sir : — I herewith transmit to you an impression of the medal, pre- 
sented to the late Commodore Edward Preble, in pursuance of the reso- 
lution of Congress of the 3d March, 1805. 

This is given to you, as one of the officers of the navy, who honorably 
participated in the gallant achievement, the memory of which it is 
intended to preserve. 

1 have the honor to be, respectfully, sir, your most obedient servant, 

R. Smith. 

Capt. Charles Stewart, Philadelphia. 



During part of the years 1806 and 7, Captain Stewart was employed 
in superintending the construction of gunboats at New York, and was 
afterwards engaged in prosecuting mercantile enteprizes to the East 
Indies, the Mediterranean, and Adriatic. During these voyages, he 
was fortunate enough, through his spirited intercession, to release seve- 
ral of his fellow citizens who had been impressed into British ships of 
war. On the declaration of war with Great Britain, in 1812, he pro- 
ceeded, in conjunction with Commodore Bainbridge, to Washington, for 
the purpose of seeking service ; but on presenting themselves at the 
Navy Department, they were informed by Mr, Goldsborough, the chief 
clerk, that it had been decided by the cabinet to place all the ships of 
war in the harbor of New York, for its defence, and thus deprive the 
marine of all opportunity for distinguished service. They saw at once 
the injurious consequences of such an order, the disheartening of the 
service, by such a withdrawal of confidence in the navy; the paralyzing 
effects, and the national humiliation it would produce in thus tacitly 
acknowledging the invincibility of the enemy, without an effort to arrest 
it. They immediately stated their apprehensions to the Secretary of 
the Navy, and asked him what the navy had done, that its members 



14 

were to be deprived of so favorable an opportunity of plucking trophies 
from their renowned enemy on his own element, the ocean wave. The 
Secretary of the Navy stated the anxieties of the government on the 
subject, and that nothing had perplexed them more — apprehending 
that our very limited marine would be immediately overwhelmed and 
crushed by superior force and numbers. The inexperience of our offi- 
cers generally, the want of artillery practice in our seamen, who were 
not inured to scenes of blood, seemed to forbid their being opposed to a 
marine which had triumphed over every flag in every sea, with the 
advantages of twenty years' constant practice. To this formidable 
array of cautious reasons, they replied with arguments that convinced 
the Secretary of the erroneous position, and a spirited letter written 
to the President that night, by Captains Bainbridge and Stewart, con- 
vinced him also ; he immediately directed the Secretary of the Navy 
to send the vessels of war to sea, to seek their enemy, and he -would 
take the responsibility on himself. Mr. Goldsborough, who was ac- 
quainted with the contents of that letter, sought it in vain at the hands 
of Mr. Madison, for insertion in his work on the Naval History of the 
United States.* The brother officers of Captains Stewart and Bain- 
bridge nobly sustained the opinions given on that occasion ; by their 
gallantry on the ocean and on the lakes, they verified their predictions, 
and released those gentlemen from their pledges to the Executive Go- 
vernment. 

It will be borne in mind by the reader that the declaration of war 
by the President's proclamation took place on the nineteenth June, 1812; 
on the twenty-first, Captains Stewart and Bainbridge presented them- 
selves to the Government, and on the twenty second, it was determined 
by the President, in conformity with the suggestions of these officers, 
that the ships should be sent to sea, and to sea they were forthwith or- 
dered. Captain Stewart was appointed to the command of the brig 
Argus and Hornet sloop of war, which vessels formed a part of the 
squadron of Commodore Rogers, but were ordered to be withdrawn for 
the purpose of allowing Captain Stewart to make a dash with them 
amongst the British West India Islandsf This command was accom- 
panied by a private letter, dated 23d June, 1812, from the Secretary 
of the Navy. We only extract the last sentence of it to show his feel- 
ing towards Captain Stewart. 

[extract.] 

You know not how you have risen in my mind by the magnanimous 
conduct you exhibited yesterday. May God Almighty bless you, and 
crown you with success and honor. 

Signed, Paul Hamilton. 

* The author presumes the President thought this letter too important a cabinet se- 
cret to be divulged. 

t In consequence of the squadron under Commodore Rogers having left the waters 
of New York, this order was not carried into effect. 



15 

In December, Captain Stewart was appointed to the command of the 
frigate Constellation, then repairing at Washington. In November, the 
Secretary of the Navy addressed to him the following letter. 

Navy Department, 11th November, 181 2 

Sir — The naval committee are desirous of possessing the most com- 
prehensive information upon naval subjects, in particular as to the de- 
scription of marine force best adapted to our defence, and the relative 
efficiency of vessels of different rates ; I have, therefore, to request of 
you, as a professional man, your opinions at large upon the following 
points : — 

First. What, in your opinion, is the relative efficiency of ships of 
the line and Irigates — say seventy-fours and large frigates ? 

Second. What, in your opinion, is the relative efficiency of large fri- 
gates and sloops of war? 

Third. What description of naval force do you think best adapted 
to the defence of our coast and commerce? 

Fourth. What description of force do you think best calculated to 
prosecute the present war, and any future war in which we may be 
engaged? 

Fifth. Would not the erection of docks for the repairs of our ves- 
sels produce a great saving in expense, labor, and risk'? Would not 
docks greatly expedite the refitting of our ships? 

Be pleased to favor me with answers, assigning your reasons at large 
for your opinions, as early as may be in your power. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 

Paul Hamilton". 

Capt. Charles Stewart, of the Navy. 

To which the following reply was given : — 

[copy.] 

United States' Frigate Constellation, Nov. 12, 1812. 

Sir : — 1 have received your letter of the eleventh inst, in which you 
state that it is " the desire of the naval committee to possess the most 
comprehensive information upon naval subjects, particularly the marine 
force best adapted to our defence, and the relative efficiency of vessels 
of different rates." In compliance therewith, 1 have the honor to an- 
swer the questions you proposed as follows : — 

QuESTioiv First. What, in your opinion, is the relative efficiency of 
ships of the line — say seventy fours and large frigates ? 

Answer. The relative force of a seventy-four gun ship and large 
frigate is as one to three. 



28 


42 pounders. 


30 


24 ditto. 


16 


42 lb. carronades. 


8 


42 ditto. 


2 


24 pounders. 


4 


68 lb. carronades. 


88 


3224 lbs. each rounc 


650 





16 

Comparative Force. 
Frigate of 50 guns. 
Gun Deck, 30 24 pounders. 

Quarter ditto, 14 32 lb. carronades. 

Forecastle, 6 32 ditto. 

Guns, 50 1360 lbs. each round. 

Men, 430 

480 Guns and Men. 
Ship of the Line, 74 guns. 
Lower Gun Deck, 
Upper ditto, 
Quarter ditto, 
Forecastle, 

ditto. 
Poop, 

Guns, 
Men, 

738 Guns and Men. 

Argument. By the above comparison it appears that a seventy-four 
gun ship discharges at one round 3224 pound shot, and a frigate of the 
first class 1360 pounds; it therefore clearly proves the position of rela- 
tive force in point of metal to be one to three, or thereabouts. When 
this circumstance is considered jointly with the following, it must appear 
to others as it does to me, that as you increase the class of the ship, you 
increase the force in proportion of one to three, and diminish proportion- 
ately the expense of building, equipping, and supporting them in com- 
mission, which may easily be established by estimates from the Depart- 
ment and the experience of all other marine nations. 

Ships of the line are much stronger in scantling, thicker in the sides 
and bottom, less penetrable to the shot, and consequently, less liable to 
be torn, or battered to pieces, or sunk: the additional room being more 
in proportion to the additional number of men, leaves greater space for 
water and provisions, and admits of her wings being kept clear, that 
shot, penetrating through below the water, the holes can readily be 
plugged up from the inside, and her sinking thereby prevented. Hence, 
we have seen ships of the line capable of battering one another for 
several hours, and if not too much crippled in the spars and rigging, en- 
abled to renew an action on the following day. I am aware that some 
are of opinion that a more divided force is better calculated for action, 
from the advantageous position that would be given to a part. Suppose 
three frigates of fifty guns were to undertake to batter a seventy-four 



17 

gun ship, and that two of them were to occupy the quarter and stern of 
the seventy-four, (this is placing them in the most favorable position,) 
the other frigate engaged abreast — every thing then would depend 
upon the time that the frigate abreast could maintain that position, to 
enable the other two to act with effect upon the stern and quarter. — 
But it must be evident to all acquainted with the two classes of ships, 
that the frigate abreast could not withstand the fire of so heavy and 
compact a battery many minutes, and in all probability, would be dis- 
masted or sunk the first or second broadside. This would decide the 
fate of the other two. Much might be said of the superiority of ships 
of the line over frigates, in the attack of batteries, or their defence; on 
the security of valuable convoys of merchant ships, or troops sent on 
an expedition; but their advantages, in these respects, must be evident 
to all, however unacquainted with nautical affairs. 

Question Second. What, in your opinion, is the relative efficiency 
or force of large frigates and sloops of war ? 

Answer. The relative efficiency of large frigates and sloops of war 
is, at least, one to two. 

Comparative Force. 
Sloop of War. 
Gun Deck, 16 24 pounders. 

Quarter ditto, 8 24 lb. carronades. 

Forecastle, 4 24 ditto. 



Guns, 28 
Men, 180 



480 lbs. of shot. 



Gun Deck, 
Quarter ditto, 
Forecastle, 



208 Guns and Men. 
Frigate. 

30 24 pounders. 

14 32 lb. carronades. 



32 



ditto. 



Guns, 50 
Men, 430 



1360 lb. Shot. 



480 Guns and Men. 

Question Third. What description of naval force do you think best 
adapted to the defence of our coast and commerce ? 

Answer. Ships of the line are best calculated for the defence of our 
coasts, and for the protection of our commerce, inward and outward, 
when engaged in war with a foreign maritime power. 

Argument. It cannot be supposed, in a war with a foreign maritime 
power, that that power will only send to our coast frigates and smaller 
cruisers because we possess no other description of vessels. Their first 



18 

object will be to restrain, by ships of the line, our frigates and other 
cruisers from departing and preying upon their commerce. Their next 
object will be to send their smaller cruisers in pursuit of our commerce, 
and by having their ships of the line parading on our coast, threatening 
our most exposed sea-port towns, and preventing the departure of our 
small cruisers, they will be capturing what commerce may have escaped 
theirs, and recapturing what prizes may have fallen into our hands. — 
Thirdly, they can at any time withdraw their ships of the line, should a 
more important object require it, without hazarding much on their 
part, and return in sufficient time to shut out our cruisers that may 
have departed during their absence. Fourthly, they can at all times 
consult their convenience in point of time and numbers, and will incur 
no expense and risk of transports for provisions and water, but can go 
and procure their supplies at pleasure, and return to their station ere 
their absence is known to us. 

Question Fourth. What description of force do you think best cal- 
culated to prosecute the present war, and any future war in which we 
may engage? 

Answer. For the prosecution of the present war with most effect, a 
mixed naval force of the following description, in my opinion, is the best 
calculated. 

Ships of the line, to rate, in honor of the year of our independence^ 
seventy-sixes, to mount as follows. 

28 42-pounders, on the lower gun deck. 

30 24 ditto, upper ditto. 

24 42-pound carronadcs on quarter deck and forecastle. 
2 24-poundcrs on forecastle. 
4 68-pound carronadcs on poop. 

88 Guns. 

Frigates to rate forty guns, to mount as follows : 
30 24-pounders on gun deck. 
20 32-po\md carronades on quarter deck and forecastle. 

50 Guns. 

Frigates to rate thirty-two guns, to mount as follows : 
2G 18-pounders on gun deck. 
IG 24-pound carronades on quarter deck and forecastle. 

42 Guns. 

Corvette ships to rate sixteen guns, to mount as follows: 
18 32-pound carronades. 
2 12-pounders. 

20 Guns 



19 

Argument. By having a proportion of these classes of ships of war, 
the inner squadron, or '■'garde di costa^' may be composed of the ships 
of the Une, and a few of the thirty-two gun ships for repeaters and 
look-out ships— hence it would produce one of two results, either that 
the enemy would be obliged to abandon our coast, or bring on it a much 
greater force, at least double our number, out of which they would be 
obliged to keep on our coasts a superiority at all hazards of the sea, and 
at great additional expense and risk of transports for provisions and wa- 
ter. But should they, from other circumstances, be unable to keep up 
this superiority on our coast, the door will be kept open for the ingress 
or egress of our cruisers and their prizes, while our other classes of 
ships may be sent in pursuit of their smaller cruisers and commerce. 
These observations will apply to all future wars in which we may be 
engaged with maritime powers; but as we might more frequently be 
engaged with the Barbary powers, the frigates and sixteen gun ships 
would be better adapted to that species of warfare. They have no 
ships of the Hne. Our ships of the hne could then be laid in ordinary, 
dismantled and preserved at a small expense. 

Question Fifth. Would not the erection of docks for the repairs of 
our vessels, produce a great saving in expense, labor, and risk, and 
would not docks greatly expedite the refitting of our ships? 

Answer. A dry dock, agreeably to a plan I furnished the department 
some time since, to be freed from water by pumps or drains, will be 
indispensable for the repairs of ships of war, and will be the least ex- 
pensive way of repairing the bottoms of our ships, and will expedite 
the outfits, in point of time, one to ten. 

Argument. A ship of war, wanting repairs done to her bottom, or 
coppering, must be turned down, one side at a time, to undergo that re- 
pair; therefore, to prepare a ship for that process, requires that all her 
upper masts should be taken down, and all her guns, stores, water-casks, 
ballast, ammunition, &c., should be taken out, which leads to great loss, 
waste, and labor, and the time occupied in the process, will be from 
two to three weeks, and as much more time will be required to re-rig, 
reequip, and re-place her guns, stores, and other materials. The pre- 
paration to dock a ship of war can be done in txvelve hours; all that is 
necessary to be done, is to take out the guns, and pump the water out 
of the water-casks; and when in dock, the repairs of her bottom can 
progress on bolh sides at the same time. Should a ship of war require 
a thorough repair throughout, it can never be eifectually done but in a 
dock: for instance, in repairing ships of war in the water, they are lia- 
ble to have the fine form of their bottom spoiled by hogging, spreading, 
or warping, which will materially affect their sailing. Ships wanting 
thorough repairs, require all the plank ripped off inside and outside, 
their beams, knees, and clamps taken out; these are all they have to 
bind their frames together, and thereby preserve their shape; but 
when stripped of these to make room for the new, they are liable to 



20 

l>ogg from the greatest weight and body of timber being in tl>e /ore 
and after end, at which places there is no pressure upwards, caused by 
the water, as those ends are sharp; the two extremes of the ship are 
liable to sink in the water, while the body or middle of the ship rises 
with the upward pressure of the water. The next consideration in re- 
pairing the bottoms in the water, though not of such vital importance, 
is not unworthy of serious atteation: the bolting into the bottom ought 
to be driven from the outside, but when repaired afloat, they are under 
the necessity of driving them from the inside, hence the bottom will 
not be so strong nor so well secured. 

The time for answering the several questions propounded to me in 
your letter of the eleventh inst. being very short, and a great deal being 
required by my other avocations, will, I trust, be a sufficient apology 
for my not going more largely and minutely into the subject, as also for 
any inaccuracies which I may have committed. I will, therefore, close 
this communication with an expression of my hopes that whatever may 
be proposed by the naval committee to Congress on the subject, they 
will strongly recommend to their consideration the necessity of having 
what they propose for the increase of the navy of the best seasoned 
materials, which will be by far the cheapest, and be longer in a state 
for active service. I trust their past experience will prove this position 
to their satisfaction, that the best materials are always the cheapest, 
and that a slow increase is better than a hasty and temporary one. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 
Signed, Charles Stewart. 

Hon. Paul Hamilton. 

We agree with Captain Stewart, in the within statement, in all its 
parts. 

Q,. 1 J Isaac Hull, 

° ' \ Charles Morris. 

In December, 181'2, this ship was equipped, and ready for sea, and 
Captain Stewart embraced the occasion to give a splendid entertain- 
ment on board that vessel, to all the branches of government, and the 
citizens of the district: there were upward of eight hundred ladies and 
gentlemen on board, where they passed without accident a most agree- 
able day, and returned to their homes at night, delighted with the 
entertainment and hospitality of the captain. Soon after the citizens 
ot the district gave a return ball to Captain Stewart, and the officers of 
the navy ; it was at this ball room^ about ten o'clock at night, that 
Midshipman Hamilton, the son of the Secretary of the Navy, and the 
aid of Captain Decatur, arrived with the flag of the Macedonian frigate, 
and the despatches of Captain Decatur, giving an account of his having 
captured her with the frigate United States. The dancing ceased, the 
flag was spread on the floor, the despatches read to the President, and 
the assembled ladies and gentlemen ; to describe the scene which fol- 



21 

lowed would require a more graphic pen than wc hold. The reader 
might well be left to his own reflections and feelings, and glorious sym- 
pathies. Nor will he, we are certain, omit to recur to that gallant 
impulse which led Stewart and Bainbridge to Washington, to remon- 
strate against the inglorious policy that had been adopted, of shutting 
up our ships, and the way to those brilliant scenes which lighted up the 
ocean and the lakes, with such unfading glory ! We cannot resist the 
impulse to say something of that memorable occasion. The building, 
large and commodious as it was, as the flag lay in the midst of the bril- 
liant assembly, literally trembled to its foundation with the plaudits. 
Ladies were seen laughing and weeping with joy; gentlemen embracing 
one another; members of Congress who were opposed to each other in 
the morning, on questions concerning the war, were found in each 
other's arms ; the opposers of the war recovered, for the moment, their 
lost patriotism, and in the arms of their democratic colleagues, their 
hearts beat in unison with each other over the glory acquired for their 
country, while the tears of gratitude streamed from their eyes, and fell 
on the prostrate flag of Britain. The venerable Macon, forgetting his 
stern consistency, exclaimed, "I never behold an oflicer of our navy, 
without the expansion of my heart making me feel as much affection 
for him as I could for a brother." In the general confusion, and the 
loss of all personal distinction, through the patriotic feelings of the mo- 
ment, the President himself received the fraternal embrace of a federal 
senator. In this ball room, and on this occasion, the Secretary of the 
Navy, (Mr. Hamilton,) stated to those assembled, "It is to Captains 
Bainbridge and Stewart you owe your naval victories." We do no 
more than repeat the history of the times, when we say, that it was to 
the victories of our brave tars, on the ocean, over the Eiiglish, that 
the first itnpulse and success of the war are to be fairly ascribed. 

Unprepared, at its commencement, the nation divided on the ques- 
tion, and the fleets of the enemy hovering on our shores, doubt and 
darkness enveloped its declaration, and made the boldest hearts quail. 
Who that remembers that day, will ever forget the shouts of joy which 
rang through the land, as victory upon victory was announced, and flag 
after flag of the proud mistress of the deep bowed to the star spangled 
banner of freedom! The national pulse beat high in every bosom; and 
every valley, and every hill top, sent forth its song of praise. Our 
cities, towns, and hamlets blazed with illuminations, and our armies 
marched joyfully to battle. The spell was broken ! The foe had been 
confronted, on his own element, ship to ship, man to man, and gun to 
gun, and never had the stars and stripes of our country come down. 
The heart of the traitor shrivelled up within him, and the notes of 
despair died upon his lips. Our foe was struck aghast at his defeat, 
and trembled as he grappled with us, on sea and land. Mr. Madison's 
administration acquired strength, his friends confidence, the people hope, 
and the army and navy assurance of victory and fame. Such were the 



22 

results of the noble counsel of Captains Stewart and Bainbridge, and 
such the glorious fulfilment of their predictions ! One only of these 
chivalrous heroes lives to witness the deep and lasting gratitude of his 
country. Death has set his seal upon the other, and sanctified his 
memory i?i the affections of his countrymen. The fruits of their 
generous patriotism will long be seen in our elevated national character, 
in the glory of our arms, in the potency of our influence, and in the 
arrest of the ruffian hand of impressment, from touching the humblest 
head that seeks shelter beneath our ^^ striped hunting^^ once so con- 
temned and despised. American decks are now as inviolable as the 
American soil, and the proudest foot in the enemy's rank dare not tar- 
nish them with rudeness or insult. The last American sailor has been 
long since dragged into foreign bondage, on the high seas. 

Amongst the assembled fashion and beauty on the memorable occa- 
sion referred to, we observed Mrs. Madison, Miss Mayo, (now Mrs. Gen. 
Scott,) the Misses Caton, Mrs. Jerome Bonaparte, and many others. 

Captain Stewart shortly after proceeded to Hampton Roads, in the 
Constellation, preparatory to going on a cruize, but unfortunately, the 
morning after anchoring there, he discovered the enemy approaching 
his anchorage with a superior force of two seventy-fours, three frigates, 
and several small vessels of war: he lost no time in preparing to retreat. 
It being calm with him, he commenced kedging his frigate towards Nor- 
folk ; the enemy's vessels approached rapidly with a fine breeze, which 
they fortunately lost ofT Willoughby's Point, and they were^ in conse- 
quence of the ebb tide, compelled to anchor. The Constellation was 
kedged up on the flats ofT Sowell's Point, where she lay aground the 
rest of the day ; Captain Stewart continued to press the river craft and 
lighten his vessel. In case the enemy, by kedging up their seventy- 
fours, or by means of a breeze, had reached his position, he was pre- 
pared for burning the Constellation: the night flood, however, made; 
when about eight o'clock, his ship floated, sail was made on her with a 
fine breeze, boats with lights and pilots were sent to point out the shoals, 
and at eleven o'clock, P. M., the Constellation was safely moored be- 
tween forts Norfolk and Nelson, where she afterwards contributed to 
defend that place, and with her cannon and her crew, repulsed the 
enemy's attack on Crany Island, and defeated the expedition sent to 
capture Norfolk and its dependencies. 

In the summer of 18l3, Captain Stewart was ordered to assume the 
command of the frigate Constitution, then undergoing repairs at Boston. 
In December following he proceeded on a cruize. After exhibiting 
that ship on the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, about the Ber- 
muda Islands, off the coasts of Surinam, Berbice and Demerara, to wind- 
ward of the islands of Barbadoes, St. Vincent, Martinico, off St. Chris- 
topher's, St. Eustatia, Porto Rico, and Santa Cruz, and destroying the 
Picton of sixteen guns, a merchant ship of ten guns, the brig Catherine 
and schooner JPhoenix, he chased several British ships of war, and the fri- 



23 

gate La Pique, in the Mona passage, without being able to overtake any 
of them, in consequence of the worn out state of the sails of the Constitu- 
tion. Capt. Stewart determined to return to Boston, and replace them, 
for the old sails had served throughout the periods of Captain Hull's and 
Captain Bainbridge's former cruises. In April, the Constitution arrived 
at Marble Head, in Massachusetts bay, having with great difficulty 
escaped from the British frigates, the Junon, and La Nymphe, of fifty 
guns each. 

In December, the Constitution proceeded on another cruize, under 
the command of Captain Stewart, having been refitted with great care, 
and furnished with new sails. On the twenty-fourth, he captured and 
destroyed, to the eastward of the Bermudas, the brig Lord Nelson ; oflf 
Lisbon, he captured the ship Susan, with a valuable cargo, and sent 
her to New York; and on the twentieth of February, 1815, after a 
sharp conflict of forty minutes, he captured the British ships of war, the 
Cyane of thirty-four guns, and the Levant^ of twenty-one guns, having 
three men killed, and thirteen wounded; the British ships having in all 
thirty-five killed, and forty4wo wounded. 

The following is the official report of that action. 

United States Frigate Constitution, 

At Sea, 23d February, 1815. 

Sir: — On the twentieth of February last, the Island of Madeira bear- 
ing W. S. W., distant about sixty leagues, we fell in with his Britannic 
Majesty's two ships of war, the Cyane and Levant, and brought them 
to action about 6 o'clock in the evening, both ot which, after a spirited 
engagement of forty minutes, surrendered to the ship under my com- 
mand. 

Considering the advantages derived by the enemy from having a 
divided and more active force, as also the superiority in the weight 
and number of their guns, I deem the speedy and decisive result of this 
action, the strongest assurance which can be given to the Government, 
that all under my command did their duty, and gallantly supported the 
reputation of American seamen. 

Enclosed you will receive the minutes of the action, and a list of the 
killed and wounded on board this ship : also, enclosed you will receive 
for your information, a statement of the actual force of the enemy, and 
the number killed and wounded on board their ships, as near as could 
be ascertained. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
Signed, Charles Stewart. 

To Hon. Secretary of the Navy, Washington. 

Captain Stewart proceeded with these prizes to the Island of St. 
Jago, one of the Cape de Verd Islands, with a view to divest his ship of 
the numerous prisoners, consisting of the officers, seamen, and marinos 



24 

of both ships of the enemy, amounting to nearly four hundred. While 
making arrangements for despatching them at Port Praya, for Barba- 
does, the Biitish squadron, consisting of the ships of war the Acasta, of 
fifty guns, the New Castle, of sixty-four guns, and the Lcander, of sixty- 
four guns, under the command of Sir George Collier, reached his position 
under cover of a thick fog. Notwithstanding their near approach, 
Captain Stewart determined to retreat, and immediately the Constitution 
and her prizes cut their cables and crowded sail to escape. He was 
fortunate in being able, by his skilful management and manoeuvres, to 
save from their grasp his favourite frigate Constitution, and the Cyane. 
The Levant was captured by the squadron, and sent to Barbadoes. 

After this escape, he proceeded with the Constitution to Maranam, 
in the Brazils, and landed the prisoners, refreshed his crews, refitted his 
vessel, and returned to Boston, where he and his officers were received 
with the usual courtesies by their fellow citizens. On his way through 
New York, the Common Council honored Captain Stewart with the 
freedom of their city, in a gold box, and extended towards him and his 
oflicers the courteous hospitalities of that great city, by a public dinner. 

New York, June 21, 1815. 
Sir — In communicating to you the enclosed resolution of the Com- 
mon Council of the City of New York, I beg leave to add the expres- 
sion of my highest respect, and to request information when the Com- 
mon Council can have the pleasure of meeting you, for the purpose of 
carrying into effect the object of the resolution. 

The delay of this communication has arisen from the daily expecta- 
tion of your arrival in this city. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

Jno. Ferguson. 
Charles Stewart, Esq., Com. U. S. Frigate Constitution. 

On his arrival in Philadelphia, the legislature of his native State 
(Pennsylvania) voted him their thanks, and directed his Excellency the 
Governor to cause a gold-hilted sword to be presented to Captain Stew- 
art, in testimony of their sense of his distinguished merits in capturing 
the British ships of war of superior force, the Cyane and the Levant. 

Philadelphia, August 8th, 1817, 
Sir: — Charged by his Excellency, Simon Snyder, Governor of the 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with the presentation to you of a 
sword, and other testimonials of the grateful sense entertained of your 
distinguished services, I will thank you to apprise me when and where 
I can have the honor of an interview with you for that purpose. 
With sentiments of high consideration and esteem, 
I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

Wm. Duncan, Aid-de-Camp. 
Captain Charles Stewart. 



25 

On the meeting of Congress, the assembled representatives of the 
nation passed a vote of thanks to Captain Stewart, his officers, and 
crew; and resolved that a suitable gold medal, commemorative of that 
brilliant event, the capture of the two British ships of war, the Cyane 
and Levant, by the Constitution, should be presented to Captain Stew- 
art, in testimony of the sense they entertained of his gallantry, and 
that of his officers, seamen, and marines, under his command on that 
occasion. 

Navy Department, February 10th, 1820. 
Sir: — In compliance with a resolution of the Congress of the United 
States, the President directs me to present to you a gold medal, in tes- 
timony of the high sense entertained by Congress of your gallantry and 
good conduct and services in the capture of the British vessels of war, 
the Cyane and Levant, after a brave and skilful combat. 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

Smith Thomson. 
Commodore Charles Stewart, U. S. Navy. 

The war having terminated with Great Britain, the Constitution was 
put out of commission, and laid up in ordinary. In 1816, Captain Stew- 
art was placed in command of the Franklin ship of the line, of seventy- 
four guns, and in 1817, she \vas fitted out at Philadelphia as the flag 
ship of Commodore Stewart, who was directed to take command of the 
American squadron in the Mediterranean sea. In November, 1817, 
he sailed for England, to convey the Hon. Richard Rush as minister to 
the court of Great Britain, who was landed there in the latter part of 
December, after which the Franklin proceeded to the Mediterranean, 
and Commodore Stewart took command of the forces of the United 
States in that sea. 

In a profound state of peace with all the world, there was no farther 
field for the Commodore to exhibit his talents, skill, and chivalry, which 
a state of war calls forth; but here we must view him in a new and 
diflferent situation from the former, controlling a formidable force, pre- 
serving its discipline amongst the officers and crews, corresponding with 
various governments, their most distinguished men, our own ministers 
and consuls in Europe and in Africa, preserving our relations with all 
the Barbary powers in particular, placing his forces in such attitudes 
as effectually kept them in check, and restraining any disposition in the 
king of Spain to retaliate on our commerce the seizure of his possessions 
in Florida by our national troops under General Jackson — conveying to 
our government the earliest and most important intelligence, growing 
out of the revolutionary disposition of the Spanish and Italian (Neapo- 
litan) reformers and patriots; cultivating the good disposition of the 
surrounding governments and people, protecting their commerce and 
our own from piratical depredations, and relieving their vessels and 
4 



26 

crews from disasters and distress; receiving and entertaining on board 
his magnificent ship, the princes, nobility, and monarchs of the adjacent 
kingdoms — all this called forth an energy and diversity of tact and cha- 
racter which few men are fortunate enough to combine, but was, in this 
instance, fully developed, to the lasting advantage of his country, the 
honor of the navy, and the approbation of his fellow citizens. 

Commodore Stewart proceeded to Naples Bay with the squadron un- 
der his command, at which city the Emperor of Austria had arrived, 
with his court, on a tour through the south of Europe. The Marquis 
Chercheli, prime minister to the king of the Sicilies, sent an invitation 
to the Commodore to attend a grand fete to be given the Emperor, at 
the king's villa. This was accepted, and the opportunity was embraced- 
by the Commodore, to invite their majesties to visit the ships of war 
under his command, to which they readily assented. They came on 
board the Franklin seventy-four, where they were received with manned 
yards and a royal salute, and were entertained in the most courtly 
manner by the Commodore and the officers of the squadron. 

They visited every part of the ship, and expressed themselves highly 
gratified with their reception ; when they were about to depart, the 
Grand Master of the Empress, mistaking one of the wind sails for a 
mast, attempted to support himself against it while stepping over one 
of the hatchways ; the wind sail, yielding to the pressure, the poor 
gentleman was precipitated to the lowest deck — his ankle was unfortu- 
nately broken, and he was otherwise severely injured. Immediately, 
all was consternation with the party; he was taken into the wardroom, 
and his ankle set by Doctor Salter, thesuigeon of the ship, with a ra- 
pidity and skill which called forth the admiration of their majesties, 
who were much attached to the unfortunate member of their house- 
hold. 

The delay caused by this untoward event detained the party after 
night, when they all returned to the shore. It was on this occasion that 
the Emperor manifested his gratitude for the attentions and skill of 
Doctor Salter, and directed a purse of gold to be tendered to him, 
which the Doctor politely declined receiving for a professional act in 
the cause of humanity. This conduct contributed to raise the Ameri- 
can character for humanity and disinterestedness as much as the exhibit 
of the high order and discipline of the squadron had done to impress on 
their majesties and their courts, the progress (he American people had 
made, and were making, to future naval renown. After Commodore 
Stewart had thus cultivated the kind feelings of those distant nations 
towards his countrymen and their commercial enterprises, the squadron 
left the bay of Naples, and proceeded to exhibit themselves to the Bar- 
bary powers, with a similar view. 

In 1820, the Franklin returned to the United States, and remained 
in ordinary until the following year, when she was again fitted for ser- 
vice in the Pacific, and Commodore Stewart placed in command. Out 



27 

of the revolt of the colonies of Spain, in South America, there had 
arisen danger to our commercial and whaling enterprises in the Pacific 
and on its coasts, which seemed to admonish the government that noth- 
ing but an imposing force would avail; yet such was the nature and 
delicacy of the service, originating in the attitude of the hostile parties, 
the obligations of the United States towards Spain (one of them) under 
the laws of nations and treaty stipulations, and on the other hand, the 
sympathy of the people of the United States for the struggling patriots 
and their cause, whose independence and power had not yet been ac- 
knowledged; with a disposition, on their part, to seize on neutral com- 
merce under every frivolous pretext, and thereby acquire the means of 
carrying on the war; while, at the same time, the United States were 

not disposed to hazard their peaceful attitude with either belligerent 

this situation called for the exercise of great discretion, and imposed on 
the commander a necessity for exhibiting great prudence and firmness 
in giving efficient protection to his fellow-citizens, their commerce and 
their property; wdiile,at the same time, he had to guard himself against 
the misrepresentations of those who, in their enthusiasm for the cause 
of either party to which they became wedded, through feelings or in- 
terest, had lost sight of their own honor, and involved, in some measure, 
that of their country. 

Thus, placed between these excited and hostile parties, opposing the 
interests of the one, and the high policy of the other, in giving advice, 
countenance, and protection to his countrymen, and the interests of the 
state; with no orders, save the crude and undefined laws of nations as 
his guide, which one of the parties held at naught, as thev were not 
yet admitted into the great family of nations, and the other opposed by 
their policy and their laws of the Indies, the Commodore could not be 
long in discovering the very critical attitude he had been placed in, the 
arduous duties he had to encounter, and the reputation which he risked 
on the occasion. 

To yield protection was an imperative duty — that complaints would 
ensue there was no doubt, and that the prejudices and sympathies of 
his countrymen, their agents, and the press, would join in the general 
clamor, there was every probability; and that this would lead to un- 
pleasant results, he could not question, knowing how much the Execu- 
tive Government lacked firmness when the general voice impugned the 
acts of their officers, and how willingly they avoid every responsibility 
of the acts of their national forces. 

In thus casting a glance at his perplexing position, he determined on 
his course — that which patriotism, duty, and honor alone could point 
out. To yield every protection, to break down lawless blockades, and 
with them the Vatriots" pretexts for plundering and sweeping our com- 
merce from the Pacific sea, to interpose his forces and efforts in the re- 
straining of the piracies and robberies of the buccaneers claiming the 
protection of the Spanish flag. 



28 

The following letter was written in conformity ^vith the foregoing 
principles, to General Sucre, the Civil and Military Commander-in- 
Chief. 

[Copy.] 

U. S. Ship Franklin, Callao Bay, July 14, 1823. 
To His Excellency, General Sucre, 

Civil and Military Commander-in-Chief, at Callao. 

The letter your Excellency did me the honor to write me on the 
eighth instant, in reply to mine of the thirtieth ultimo, has been duly 
received. It does not, perhaps, belong to me to discuss the principles 
your Excellency contends for, with respect to the declared blockade of 
the western coast of Peru by the Patriot Government: it may only be- 
long to me to notify my respectful protest against its illegal and inju- 
rious operations, so far as the commerce of the Republic of North Ame- 
rica is concerned, and in compliance with my orders to guard it against 
those effects, leaving the principles and points contended for to the dis- 
cussion of the two Governments. But the Government of Peru may 
have been led into an error on that subject, by the infraction of those 
principles of the laws of nations, during the late wars in Europe, be- 
tween France and England, and then for the first time adopted by Great 
Britain, and, as your Excellency states, not opposed by her commanders 
on this station. If I bring to the notice of your Excellency some im- 
portant facts, out of the strict line of duty attaching to my command, 
I hope and trust your Excellency will do me the favor to believe that 
it only originates in a strong desire to guard our respective rights, and 
to preserve a lasting harmony between the Governments. 

After the commencement of hostilities between Great Britain and 
France in '02, so long as it was the interest of England, and during the 
existence of the marine of several European powers, that Government 
observed and applied the principles of the laws of nations to all the 
l)Iockades instituted. But when she had destroyed, in turn, the marine 
oi" liic other European powers, her policy was then changed. Inter- 
national law was rejected, honor and common honesty were abandoned ; 
power gave right, and a war of destruction was waged against the 
unoUending neutral ; commerce was given up to its cormorant rapacity? 
and that which escaped its talons, she forced her open enemies to prey 
on, under pretext of retaliation. Against such principles, I need not 
now remind your Excellency, the United States resisted, even with 
England, successfully, and as the Republic of the North was the first 
to contend for just principles in the late war, she was also found the last 
in the field defending them. 

The conclusions your Excellency has drawn from the tacit conduct of 
the British Naval Commanders on this station, are not applicable to the 
United States, and perhaps those commanders may not be instructed to 
interfere with anv kind of blockade the Patriot Government may deem 



29 

proper to impose, especially one founded on principles so lately and 
newly exercised by themselves. England, the most politic nation, has 
always been guided in her conduct towards others, by principles ol policy 
and interest often times just, but as often at variance with justice and 
previous conduct. She may reserve to herself the right of discussing, and 
demanding indemnification of the Patriot Government hereafter, for any 
violation of her rights, to preserve a future cause of quarrel with these 
governments,toobtainsome exclusive commercial advantage as indemnity 
hereafter, to apply the same rule to the commerce of this country in her 
future wars. Whatever infraction of her rights she may deem proper to 
tacitly acquiesce in now, does not and can not constitute a reason that the 
government of the United States should also yield theirs. Your Excel- 
lency very justly observes that a blockade declared by the commanders 
of a ship of the line or a schooner, legally commissioned for war, does 
not import less in the one case than the other, and it will be but just to 
add, that the declaration of a blockade, originating in their will, 
imports nothing. 

The commander of a ship of war, or commander in chief of a 
squadron, can institute a blockade in very distant seas— the urgency 
and necessity of the case renders it legal. The act of a belligerant 
involving certain rights of a friend is an act of sovereignty ; it belongs 
to that authority to declare it, and only to the commanders to carry it 
into effect. But the belligerant's right, and will, to do so, and the decla- 
ration of it, does not constitute the act, unless combined with an object 
that is legitimate, and a force competent to sustain it. With respect to 
the legitimacy of the object, that can only exist in depriving your enemy 
of all external means of annoying you, and external resources of con- 
tinuing the war, and is in a great measure dependent on their actual 
situation; hence the right of the neutral to introduce all articles of a 
perfectly innocent nature, and which do not contribute any thing 
towards carrying on the war. It would be preposterous to blockade a 
port, by sea, against the entrance of provisions, which has an extensive 
and abundant country adjoining to supply it. In such a case the belli- 
gerant would only be injuring a common friend, without prejudice to his 
enemy : this the law of nations forbids his doing ; but on the other 
hand, where a possibihty exists of your reducing your enemies to terms, 
by excluding such provisions, your right is legitimate to do so, and the 
injury done the neutral is accidental. 

With respect to the competency of the force, it will depend on the 
localities of the port or ports blockaded, and not on the size of the 
vessels, or the weight or number of their guns — with this neutrals have 
nothing to do ; it is sufficient for them that the place is susceptible of 
being blockaded, and the force applied is of such description and so 
stationed, as to render it extremely hazardous to enter : so also with 
respect to the force of your enemy ; if he possess a thousand ships of 
war more than the blockading power, and does not see proper to drive 



30 

it from his ports, it is effectual against the neutral so long as that 
blockade preserves and does not voluntarily abandon its stations. 

A blockade originally legitimate and legnlly instituted, may derive 
an opposite character from the conduct oi the belligerant blockading. 
Thus the forces stationed to carry it into effect, negligently and partially 
executing it, the Government contravening its legitimate object, and by 
partiality or licence permitting one or two neutral flags to trade while 
all others are excluded, thereby rendering it a subject of convenience 
to themselves, or a source of tribute to their coffers. Admitting, in 
consequence of the localities of the Western coast of Peru, that it be 
susceptible of blockade by as small or a smaller force than the same 
extent of coast in any other part of the world, yet the whole naval 
force of Peru, even if actually engaged in that service, is not a compe- 
tent force for the blockade of a coast, eight hundred miles in extent, 
and containing very many ports and harbors. I, however, believe very 
little of the naval force of Peru has been employed on that service, and 
in fact this extensive blockade has often been left for months, with no 
other vessel beyond a schooner ; and also there can no doubt exist, of 
exclusive privileges having been given by the Government of Peru to 
particular persons and flags, to trade by licence, with this coast declared 
under blockade. 

The principles here contended for, the United States are also contend- 
ing for with Spain in the North Atlantic, where they operate in favor 
of the Patriot Government. It would be absurd for the government of 
Spain, to declare under blockade, and the operation of the laws of the 
Indies, the whole coast of Chili, Peru, and Mexico; and as the most 
susceptible and convenient mode of sustaining that declaration, to cause 
a naval force, superior to that of the Patriots, to cruize to the westward 
of Cape Horn, and there arrest every vessel coming or going, under 
pretext of violating the laws of the Indies and blockade of the coasts — 
yet this conduct on their part, w-ould not be less effectual or more absurd 
than the blockade of an extensive coast by the Patriots, without any 
thing like an adequate naval force to sustain it. 

I pray your Excellency to accept the assurance of the high respect 
and consideration, with which 

I have the honor to remain, 

Your Excellency's most obedient, 
Very humble servant, 
Signed, Charles Stewart. 

On the receipt of the foregoing letter, the blockade was immediately 
annulled. 

The reader will here contrast, by the following address of his country- 
men residing abroad and on the very coast where Commodore Stewart's 
command extended, the difference of their opinion of his acts and con- 
duct and that entertained of him by some of his countrymen at home. 



31 

Lima, May 2d, 1824. 
To Commodore Charles Stewart, 
Commander-in-Chief of the 

U. S. Naval Forces in the Pacific. 

Sir: — Impressed with a high sense of the zeal and ability you have 
manifested in the cause of your country, during a period of upwards of 
twenty-six years of public service, the undersigned citizens of the 
United States, at present residing or transacting business in Lima, beg 
leave respectfully to express to you their sense of your conduct in the 
command on this coast you are now about to leave. The duties you 
have had to perform have been no less arduous than various, from the 
peculiar situation of the countries to which your command extended. 
You arrived at a time when the revolutionary governments of Peru and 
Chili, intoxicated with success, and regardless of every principle of 
national law, preyed upon the unotTending neutral at will. By your 
firmness, their rapacity was restrained, and by your skill, their friendly 
relations, which our government is so anxious to maintain, has remained 
unimpaired. 

We are grateful to acknowledge the readiness with which you have 
at all times listened to the complaints or wishes of your countrymen, and 
the promptness with which you have afforded them all the protection 
your situation would permit. 

With these feelings, which are as sincere on our part as they are well 
founded, we look with peculiar regret to your departure ; and especially 
at this moment, when circumstances so strongly demand rather the 
increase than diminution of force on this station. 

Within a few days, an unauthorized blockade has been declared 
under the flag of a country which, in reality, has no longer any 
existence, and which, therefore, leaves us without the smallest hope of 
future reparation for any wrongs it may inflict on us. The experience 
you have acquired during your long command in this ocean, and the 
imposing force of the Franklin, would obviously be of the greatest utility 
to the distinguished officer who has come to succeed you, and your 
remaining here a very short period would greatly facilitate his future 
operations. 

With these views, and under the urgency of circumstances which have 
so recently arisen, we most earnestly hope that you may be induced to 
delay your departure for a short period; since, by so doing, the new 
danger that threatens the extinction of our commerce may in all pro- 
bability be removed. The amount of interest at stake, the distant 
position of our country, and the threatening evils to which we allude, 
all seem to us to require it ; and we have, therefore, no doubt they will 
justify to our government your remaining a few weeks longer. Perhaps 
a few days only may dissipate the dangers that are gathering. You may 
in this case probably have the satisfaction of having contributed to save 
a large amount of property to your fellow-citizens, of which, if they 



32 

are despoiled, neither they nor their government have any power to look 
to for future compensation. 

Whatever may be your determination, we offer to you our most 
cordial wishes for your safe return to your country, where, we feel sat- 
isfied, you will receive the approbation from your government and 
fellow-citizens, which your long and efficient services so justly merit. 
We have the honor to be, sir, 

Your friends and fellow-citizens, 
Daniel W. Coit, J. A. Stevenson, 

Wm. H. Conkling, Joseph M'Comb, 

J no. C. Green, Rosman Lawrence, 

Samuel Erwin, Jos. James, 

Russell Baldwin, James Bradly, 

Moses Gibbs, J. M. Sebor, 

Ambrose H. Burrows, Jno. Donnell, 

Perry Bowers, Charles Manchester, 

William Johnson, Jr. J. Jones, 

Henry L. Dekoven, Nixon & M'Call. 

Hiram Putnam, 

On returning to the country he had so nobly served. Commodore 
Stewart was subjected to a degrading arrest for one year, and to the 
costs of an expensive court martial. An acquittal, more honorable 
than the records of any naval tribunal can furnish, was the result ac- 
corded him, under the oath of twelve of his brother officers, distin- 
guished for their patriotism, valor, experience, and fidelity to their 

country and their corps. 

Navy Department, 5th September, 1825. 
Sir: — I inclose to you the judgment of the Court-martial, which 
the President of the United States has approved, acquitting you most 
honorably of all the charges which have been made against you, and 
of which the government has been apprized, while you commanded the 
squadron in the Pacific. The number and nature of the charges, and 
the character of those who presented them, were such, that an inquiry 
was demanded by your own honor, and the duty, which the govern- 
ment owed to itself and the interest of the nation. The result of the 
investigation has been satisfactory to the Executive, will be useful to 
the public, and honorable to yourself. It has furnished a conclusive 
answer to public and private accusation, and redeemed your fame from 
reproach — a fame heretofore dear to your country, and hereafter to 
become still more precious. 



I am, very respectfully, &c., 

Samuel L. Southard. 



Captain Charles Stewart, 
U. S. Navy, Washington. 



At a general Court Martial, convened at the city of Washington, on 



33 

the eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand, 
eight hundred and twenty-five, by virtue of a precept from the honor- 
able the Secretary of the Navy, bearing date the seventeenth day of Au- 
gust instant: 

Present — Captain James Barron, President; Captains William M. 
Crane, Robert T. Spence, John D. Henley, Jesse D. Elliott, Stephen 
Cassin, James Renshaw, Thomas Brown, Charles C. B. Thompson, Al- 
exander S. Wads worth, George W. Rogers, and George C. Reed, 
Members; and Richard S. Coxe, Judge Advocate. 

This court, having fully and maturely investigated the matters sub- 
mitted to it in the case of Captain Charles Stewart, and considered the 
charges and specifications, the evidence and the defence of the accused, 
proceeded this third day of September, in the year aforesaid, to which 
time the court had been adjourned, from day to day, (o determine upon 
the same. And after such deliberation, it is of opinion that the first 
and second specifications of the first charge are not proved, that the 
third specification is so far proved, as it alleges that the said Captain 
Stew^art did prevent the captain of the Peruvian brig Belgrano from 
taking and sending in for adjudication, the American ship, the Canton, 
then engaged in a lawful trade; that in so doing the said Charles Stew- 
art was acting in strict obedience to his duty, as indicated both in his 
instructions and by the laws of nations; and that his conduct on this oc- 
casion was highly meritorious and praiseworthy. The court is also of 
opinion that the residue of the specification is not proved. The court 
is also of opinion that the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth 
specifications are not proved. It is of opinion that the tenth specification 
is so far proved as it alleges the purchase of the articles therein men- 
tioned to have been made from the Canton, but the court is decidedly 
of opinion that there was no impropriety in the act, that it was proper 
and correct, and that the residue of the specification is not proved. 

In relation to the eleventh specification, the court is of opinion that 
it is so far proved as it relates to the employment of the carpenters and 
other persons attached to the Franklin, in the manner stated, but it is 
also of opinion that such employment was, in all cases to which the 
proof reaches, proper, consonant to the practice of the service, and in 
every view perfectly unobjectionable; and that the residue of the spe- 
cification is not proved. The twelfth specification is not proved. The 
thirteenth is so far proved as that it is shown by the testimony that the 
said Eliphalet Smith was on one occasion employed as a matter of con- 
venience to Captain Stewart, and in aid of the public interests, to carry 
a despatch, which had no other than public objects, and that this em- 
ployment of Captain Smith was designed for the public good, and had 
not the remotest reference to, or effect upon, any other interests, and 
that the residue of the specification is not proved. The court is also 
of opinion that the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth specifications 
5 



34 

are not proved. The seventeenth Is so far proved as it relates to the 
building of three small schooners, with the aid of the carpenters, &-c. 
of the Franklin, but not out of government property; that this was in 
the judicious and faithful exercise of an unquestioned right, and that 
the individuals thus employed were thus employed by their own free 
choice, for their own benefit, and compensated for their labor. It is 
also of opinion that the eighteenth specification is proved, but the act 
therein alleged is in conformity with the practice of the service, in ful- 
filment of one of the duties which public vessels owe to the commer- 
cial interests of the nation, and essentially useful and necessary. 

In the circumstances accompanying this particular act, it was whol- 
ly unobjectionable and not attended with any los? or injury to the pub- 
lic. The nineteeth specification is also proved in point of fact, but 
this likewise is deemed by the court one of those acts in which the 
convenience and comfort of those engaged in commerce may be essen- 
tially promoted without the slightest public injury, and that in this in- 
stance it was wholly unobjectionable. As regards the twentieth, twen- 
ty-first, twenty-second and twenty-third specifications, it is the opinion 
of the court that the said Weaver was absent from the Franklin, with 
a permission granted on proper and sufficient grounds, till the arrival of 
the Franklin at Cailao, on or about the first of August, 18'22, that sub- 
sequent to this period he was absent without leave: that the muster 
rolls transmitted to the department did not precisely accord with that 
on board the Franklin, but the variances between them were wholly 
immaterial, such as could not have been designed, because not calcu- 
lated to produce the smallest inconvenience or injury, and which the 
court believes were purely accidental: nor can the court perceive any 
grounds upon which to attribute this mistake, innocent and unimpor- 
tant as it was, to any inadvertence of the accused. It is also of opin- 
ion that the muster roll, which was approved in November, 1824, was 
approved in a regular maimer, and at a proper time; that the entry 
contained in it corresponded with the fact, and with the information 
previously communicated to the department. The court is likewise of 
opinion that the twenly-fourtli, twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-se- 
venth, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth, the only remaining specifica- 
tions of the first charge, arc not, nor is either of them, proved, and it 
does adjudge and declare that the said Charles Stewart is not guilty 
of the first charge. 

The court is also of opinion that the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, 
and seventh specifications of the second charge are not proved, and 
that the second specification is only so far proved as is set forth in the 
opinion of the court upon the third specification of the first charge, and 
therefore does pronounce and adjudge that the said Charles Stewart is 
NOT GUILTY of the sccoud charge. 

The facts set forth in the first specification of the third charge have 
already been passed upon by the court, in its opinion upon the twen- 



35 

tieth specification of the first charge, and reference is therefore made 
to the finding of the court thereupon. The second and third specifica- 
tions are not proved. The court does therefore adjudge and declare 
that the said Charles Stewart is not guilty of the third charge. 

In relation to the specification of the fourth charge, it is the opinion 
of the court that the same is not proved, and therefore the said Charles 
Stewart is adjudged and declared not guilty of the said fourth 
charge. 

In terminating a trial which has awakened so general and so deep 
an interest, and submitting the result to the Executive, the court trusts 
that the peculiar character of the accusations which have been inves- 
tigated will furnish an excuse for appending to the record a few re- 
marks. 

When rumours and reports are widely and industriously disseminated 
calculated to impair the high standing and usefulness of an officer in 
whom great trust and confidence have been reposed, it becomes the 
duty of the Executive to afford to such ofiTicer, by the convention of a 
proper tribunal, an ample opportunity of vindicating himself before the 
world. To afford this opportunity and to preserve from the insidious 
effects of unmerited reproach, a reputation dear to the nation— won 
by the honorable services of seven and twenty years — to extinguish 
prejudices and suspicions created by misrepresentations or misconcep- 
tions of public agents and private individuals, and finally, to do all 
which the laws, which justice, and which honor exact, this court has 
been convened. 

Charges and specifications have been preferred embracing all the ac- 
cusations made against Captain Stewart; an investigation has been 
made into their truth; it has been conducted by the judge advocate in 
the most exemplary manner, yet with a minuteness and fulness calcu- 
lated to leave no doubt or cloud of suspicion resting upon the character 
of the accused. This investigation has produced what was desired by 
Captain Stewart, and intended by the Executive — a development of all 
the important transactions attending the late cruise of the Franklin in 
the Pacific, and the principles and motives which guided the conduct 
of her commander. These charges and specifications the court has 
adjudged not to be proved; to be in some respects utterly groundless, 
and in others to have originated in a misconception or misrepresenta- 
tion of the most innocent and meritorious acts; and Captain Stewart 
has been most fully and most honorably acquitted of every, even the 
slightest impropriety. 

The court however conceives that the peculiar character of the accu- 
sation is such that it would not render that full measure of justice which 
is required at its hands by a simple judgment of acquittal. It is there- 
fore impelled by a sense of duty to go farther, and to make unhesitatingly 



36 

this declaration to the world, that so far from having violated the high du- 
ties of neutrality and respect for the laws of nations,so far from having sac- 
rificed the honor of the American flag, or tarnished his own fair fame, 
by acting upon any motive of a mercenary or sordid kind; so far from hav- 
ing neglected his duty, or betrayed the trust reposed in him by refus- 
ing proper protection to American citizens and property, or rendering 
such protection subservient to individual interests, no one circumstance 
has been developed throughout the whole course of this minute inves- 
tigation into the various occurrences of a three years' cruise, calcula- 
ted to impair the confidence which the members of this court, the navy, 
and the nation have long reposed in the honor, the talents, and the pa- 
triotism of this distinguished officer, or to weaken in any manner the 
opinion which all who knew him entertained of his humanity and dis- 
interestedness. These virtues only glow with brighter lustre from this 
ordeal of trial, like the stars he triumphantly displayed, when valor 
and skill achieved a new victory to adorn the annals of our naval 
glory. 

James Barron, President. W. M. Crane, 

Robert T. Spence, John D. Henley, 

J. D. Elliott, S. Cassin, 

James Renshaw, Thomas Brown, 

Charles C. B. Thompson, Alex. S. Wadsworth, 

George W. Rogers, George C. Read, 

Richard S. Coxe, Judge Advocate. 
The proceedings and sentence of the court are approved ; with 
the exception of the exclusion of Samuel Brown as an incompetent 
witness. The grounds of objection to his testimony apparent on the 
face of the record, being considered as going to his credibility and not to 
his competency. 

John Quincv Adams. 
Washington, 5th September, 1825. 

On Commodore Stewart's return from Washington, where his trial 
took place, to his native city, (Philadelphia,) his friends greeted him 
with a public dinner, in approbation of-his services in the Pacific, Dur- 
ing the years 1825 to 1830, he was variously engaged in appropriate 
duties, such as examining Midshipmen, and sitting on Courts Martial, 
&c. &-C. 

In March 1830, Commodore Stewart was in Washington, and while 
there received from the Secretary of the Navy the following circular, 
enclosing a copy of the resolutions of the Senate of the United States. 

[circular.] 

Navy Department, March 8d, 1830. 
Sir: — I send you herewith a copy of a resolution of the Senate of the 
United States of the first instant, calling for information relative to the 



37 

necessity for employing marines on board our vessels of war, and 
whether seamen could not be usefully substituted in their place, &c. 
and have to request that you will, in conformity with the terms of the 
resolution, furnish me with your opinion in writing, upon the ditTerent 
points embraced by it, as early as practicable. 

I am, respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, 

John Branch. 
Com. Charles Stewart, 

United States Navy, Washington City. 

[copy.] 
In Senate of the United States, March 1, 1830. 

Resolved, — That the Secretary of the Navy be directed to furnish 
to this House, information on the following subjects : 

Whether it is necessary to the armed equipment of a vessel of war, 
that Marines should compose a part of its military force. 

Or whether marines may not be usefully dispensed with, and a por- 
tion of the seamen be instructed in the use of small arms, and perform 
all duties which can be required of marines, either in battle or in ordi- 
nary service. 

Whether seamen are not now instructed and practised in the use of 
small arms ; and generally, any information which may elucidate the 
inquiry whether marines can or can not be beneficially dispensed with 
on board of our public vessels of war. 

Whether the petty officers and seamen who have been in service, but 
from age or slight disabilities, are rendered unfit for the active duties of 
their calling on ship board, can be usefully and safely employed as guards 
at the navy stations, in lieu of the marines now assigned to that duty. 

And farther, that the Secretary of the Navy obtain from the officers 
composing the Navy Board, and other naval officers of rank now in the 
seat of Government, their opinions in writing on the foregoing subjects, 
to be transmitted with his report to the Senate. Attest : 

Signed, Walter Lowrie. 

Washington, March 8, 1830. 

Sir : — I have had the honor to receive your letter of the third instant, 
covering a resolution of the Senate of the United States relative to the 
marine corps, requiring information on the following points : 

First. Whether it is necessary that "marines should compose a part 
of the military force of a ship of war?" 

To this I answer, that I do conceive them proper, and necessary, to 
constitute a part of the crew of a ship of war. 

Second. " Whether marines may not usefully be dispensed with, 
and a portion of the seamen be instructed in the use of small arms, and 
perform all the duties which may be required of marines in battle, or 
on ordinary service?" 



38 

To this I answer, that, for the mere purposes of battle, perhaps the 
seamen might be instructed, in a Hmited degree, in the use of small 
arms. 

Third. " Whether seamen are not now instructed and practised in 
the use of small arms?" 

To this I answer, that a portion of the crew (other than the marines) 
are now, and always have been, instructed and practised in the use of 
sm-ill arms; but that instruction and practice is very limited, as it neces- 
sarily must be. 

Fourth. " Whether the petty officers and seamen who have been 
in service, but, from age or slight disabilities, are rendered unfit for the 
active duties of their calling on ship-board, can be usefully and safely 
employed as guards at the navy stations, in lieu of marines?" 

To this I answer, I think not ; but as I have never had any command 
or control over a navy yard or station, I cannot speak to this question 
from actual experience. The foregoing answers would seem to comprise 
all the honorable the Senate of the United States require on this sub- 
ject; ard it would not have been proper to go farther, were it not for 
that part of their third question, requiring also any general information 
in elucidation of the object of the resolution, •' whether marines can, or 
cannot be beneficially dispensed with on board our public ships of war?'' 
Under this clause, I would beg leave to remark, that the marines are 
the only portion of the crew of a ship of war that is wholly military, 
and the only part which could be rendered such, by the nature of the 
service, as well as the nature of those comprising the other classes. If, 
then, it is at all desirable or useful to have a portion of the force of a 
ship of war wholly and completely military, that portion must be com- 
posed of a regularly organized infantry, for this reason — that the sea 
officers, from their employments and occupations in ships of war, differ 
materially from military officers, because the ideas and general habits 
of sailors unfit them, in a great measure, for infantry soldiers ; and 
because the limited space in a ship of war would not admit of their 
training ; and their general duty and employment would be too much 
deranged and interfered with. In order to ascertain the necessity and 
utility of having a portion of the crew of a ship of war organized as in- 
fantry, it will be necessary to inquire into the object and duties of such 
a corps. 

The first object is, to instil into them these sound military principles — 
obedience, subordination, and respect, that they may be entitled to 
confidence in the discharge of their duties as sentinels to watch over 
your magazines, spirit-rooms, store-rooms, gangways, galleys, and look- 
outs ; to preserve order, and prevent interruption to the cooking duties, 
and to guard your prisoners of war, who sometimes outnumber the 
crew. In port, they constitute the deck guard, and at sea they are (at 
least, a large portion of them,) always near their arms ; thus they pre- 
vent surprise from without, and check mutiny within. In the ordinary 



39 

duties at sea, the marine watch perform the same duties on deck which', 
would be required of any other body of men, except going aloft; conse- 
quently, their usefulness and force as men are not lost ; for there must 
be some men kept on deck, in reefing and furling, to haul the rigging, 
and manage the cordage for those who are aloft. In battle, when the 
ship is engaged on both sides, or when otherwise necessary, they can be 
distributed among the carriage guns, for working the artillery. „ ^ 

Should any operation, wholly mihtary be required of them on shore, 
they would be more efficient and competent to its performance. Should 
the combined efforts of teamen and marines be required for the surprise 
of posts, or the escalade of a fortress, the marines, as a supporting 
column of regular infantry, would form a disciplined body, whereon to 
rest the security of the other classes who are appointed to make the 
grand effort, and would yield them a steady column and military sup- 
port in case of failure, when they would constitute the reserve, and 
cover the retreat and embarkation of the seamen. The latter are a 
class of men, whose onset and tirst efforts are tremendous and formida- 
ble ; but, if resisted and discomfitted, they break into a hundred groups, 
which cannot be rallied, and they become a mere mob, who, without a 
body of regulars to sustain them, must fall a sacrifice. Seamen have a 
particular aversion to the infantry drill, and, generally speakmg, can be 
brought to little more in that art than to load and fire. That strict 
subordination and obedience to orders, and the pride of feeling, intuitive 
in a regular soldier, cannot be attained by a seaman ; hence the entire 
confidence of the officers, for the performance of the ordinary duties on 
posts, cannot be yielded them ; frequent punishments would ensue for 
neglect and irregularities, and disgust to the service would follow. But, 
sir, there is another evil in attempting to make marines of sailors: the 
scarcity of seamen, and ordinary seamen, would embarrass more and 
more the manning of our ships of war, if those who act as marines be 
substituted from the other classes. 

To take them from landsmen, no advantage would be gained as ' 
regards the increased nautical efficiency of our ships; but much would 
be lost with respect to the military portion — we should have the men 
without the seamen's or the soldier's profession. In the above observa- 
tions, I have referred to the possibility of mutiny in our national ships 
of war. That mutiny has occurred in our navy, there is no doubt. — 
One instance took place on board the Constitution, in the Bay of Leg- 
horn, in the year 1807. The mutiny broke out, I think, in July, and 
was near becoming serious. By the formidable appearance of a column 
of marine bayonets, supported by nearly a hundred gallant officers 
armed, it was not only suppressed, but twenty of the ringleaders were 
secured, and sent home in the ship, ironed, for punishment; but the 
Government deemed it most advisable not to punish them, as they were 
right, and the commander v:as wrong. It appeared that the period 
for which the men had engaged had expired. This practice of keeping 



40 

the ships of war absent beyond the period for which their crews are 
engaged, is becoming a fruitful source for mutiny. Commanders, anx- 
ious to execute all the objects of the Government in sending them 
abroad, lose sight of their obligations to obey the law, thereby render- 
ing themselves liable to encounter death at sea, in the shape of mutiny, 
and civil prosecutions on shore, for detaining their men beyond the 
period for which they engaged. Their paramount duty is to return to 
the United States, and discharge their crews, after they have faithfully 
performed their part of the contract. The Government should as faith- 
fully perform theirs, by returning them to their country and homes, and 
not suffering them to be discharged pennylessin distant seas, to encoun- 
ter starvation, or to beg, or become pirates. 

Very many persons are under the impression that most of the mutinies 
in the British navy originate in their practice of impressment; but I 
believe there is scarcely an instance of the kind on record. Their mu- 
tinies originate from oppression, and not impressment, I also believe 
there is no case where the marines^ as a body, participated in the mu- 
tiny of the seamen. If we refer to the very serious mutiny of the Chan- 
nel fleet at the Nore, in 1797, I think we will find (I speak from impres- 
sions on the memory only) that nothing was stated by the mutifieers as 
a grievance for redress on the part of the impressed men, except that 
sentence of death for desertion, committed by an impressed man, was 
urged on the King as too severe a punishment ; and those who volun- 
teered for the service, and took the bounty, insisted on being discharged 
every seven years. About the same period, a bloody mutiny took place 
on board the British frigate, the Hermione, on the West India station. 
This mutiny originated in the oppression and tyranny of the commander 
on that occasion. All the officers (except a master's mate) encountered 
death. Captain Pigot, the commander of that ship, was of such a 
tyrannical and intemperate disposition, as to wholly disqualify him for 
the command of men. If mutinies have not more frequently occurred 
in our ships of war, it has been owing to the mildness of our command- 
ers, the good feelings of the seamen towards their officers, and the sup- 
port afforded the latter by a steady column of bayonets. There are 
some who will say that marines are useless except for idle parade. 
But even form and parade, in a military system, is perhaps more essen- 
tial, in aid of the preservation of discipline amongst republican citizens, 
than with the subjects of a king. 

The whole business of life may be considered as little more than bent, 
so far as the desire of distinction goes, towards appearances. Men are 
at best but grown up children, " pleased with a rattle, tickled with a 
straw." Take from military service its distinguishing trappings, the 
possible " pomp and circumstance of war," the probable vote of thanks 
of the National Legislature, and what will be then left them to aid their 
patriotism, in calling for the whole energies of the man, to support them 



41 

in the perils of the battle and the ocean, the deprivations of their homes 
and its comforts? 

If we refer to the past services of the marine corps, they will be 
found to be among the most distinguished. Whether you take them at 
the charge of the bayonet, in imison with the seamen wielding the sa- 
bre and the pike, boarding the gun-boats off Tripoli, in their various 
actions on the ocean, or in their efforts with the seamen under Barney 
in resisting the advance of the British columns to your capital, you will 
find they have ever sustained a high reputation for discipline, conduct, 
and courage. Under these circumstances, I am decidedly of opinion 
that the marines cannot be beneficially dispensed with in our national 
ships of war. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, / 

Your most obedient servant, / 

Charles Stewart* 

The Hon. John Branch, Secretary of the Navy. 

In the month of August, 1830, he was appointed a member of the 
Board of Navy Commissioners, at Washington, where he remained un- 
til August, 1833; he then retired to his farm, in New Jersey. In the 
month of July, 1836, he received the following letter of instructions 
from the Navy Department, associating with liim those distinguished 
officers, Commodores Dallas and Bolton, Conmianders of the West In- 
dian squadron, and of the Pensacola Navy Yard. 

Navy Department, July 8, 1836. 
To Commodores Charles Stewart, Akxr, J. Dallas, and W. C 

Bolton. 

Gentlemen : — Under the act of the third of March, 1827, the Pre- 
sident of the United States was authorised to cause the Navy Yards of 
the United States to be thoroughly examined, and plans to be prepared 
and sanctioned by him, for the improvement of the same, and the pre- 
servation of the public property therein; from which plans no deviation 
is to be made but by his especial order. This has been done with all, 
except the Navy Yards at Pensacola and New York. You are hereby 
constituted a Board of Commissioners to make the examination, and 
prepare the plan agreeably to that act for the Navy Yard at Pensaco- 
la. Mr. William P. Sanger will report to you, and will act under your 
direction. His assistance as an engineer, will be serviceable in the 
discharge of the duty assigned to you. 

The object of the law referred to, is to make such an arrangement 
of the improvements and buildings at the yards, and such plans for fu- 
ture expenditures upon them, as shall best promote economy, and best 
fit them for the public service, and the transaction of the public busi- 
ness, and save tlie necessity of charges hereafter, by which the public 
money would be uselessly expended. The plan to be adopted is de- 
signed to be permanent, and to embrace all the buildings and improve- 



42 

ments \vhic!i will at any future time be necessary at the Pensacola 
Navy Yard. 

For the discharge of your duty, therefore, it will be indispensable to 
look to the probable extension of this yard for future service. An en- 
larged view of all the matters connected with it as a dock yard and as 
a building and repairing establishment will be required, to enable you 
to make such a plan as will be permanently useful. To officers so ex- 
perienced and intelligent, it is not necessary to enumerate the buildings 
and improvements which will be hereafter called for by the service. 

You will be careful to provide for them all, and upon an accurate 
map of the yard, you will designate the position in which every build- 
ing and every improvement is to be placed. In your recommendation 
for these improvements, you will, of course, consider the means of ap- 
proach by water, as well as the location on the land. 
1 am, respectfully, gentlemen, 

Your obedient servant, 

JM. DlCKERSOiV. 

In compliance with the foregoing instructions, Commodore Stewart 
proceeded to Pensacola, in the United States sloop of war, Natchez, 
Captain Mervine. The following joint report was made from Pensacola. 

Pensacola, September 27, 1836. 
Sir: — We have the honor to submit to you, (as commissioners to 
whom was assigned the planning of the Navy Yard at this place.) in 
compliance with your instructions of July the eighth, a plan of the Na- 
vy Yard, with all the docks, slips, and buildings, which, in all proba- 
bility, will in future be required for the public service, and which ap- 
pears to us necessary, at a station of such high national importance as 
this seems to the commissioners to be. 

The commissioners have been obliged to keep in view some peculiari- 
ties attending this extensive bay, such as its almost constant and strong 
ebb-tides, the destructive effects of the marine worm, and the invaria- 
ble sandy nature of the soil. 

Under the influence of these considerations, they deemed it essential, 
and therefore projected on the plan, a sea wall, sufficient to afford all 
the wharfing accommodation for ships in ordinary, repairing, masting, 
or fitting for service, as well as all transports employed in bringing the 
necessary supplies for the establishment at any future time. 

About a quarter of a mile in the rear of the Navy Yard there exists 
a constant fresh-water lake, adequate to the supply, at all times, of wa- 
ter for the wet dock which this sea wall will form, to furnish all that 
may be required in the Navy Yard in case of fire, and sufficient for 
watering the ships of war. Thus the fresh water in the wet dock w^ill 
prevent the effect of worms on the dry dock gates, as well as all w-ood- 
cn structures in its vicinity; it will also furnish the means of destroying 
the living principle in grass, barnacles, and other fouUng substances of 
ships' bottoms, and act as a cleanser to their copper oji coming from sea. 



43 

as well as to preserve their bottoms from fouling while repairing, fitting, 
or lying in ordinary at the Navy Yard. 

The rigging loft is placed near the rope-walk for convenience sake, 
on part of the sea wall wharf, and under it we contemplate having suf- 
ficient store room for cables and cordage, handy to be put on board ships 
in its neighborhood, or boats to convey to ships elsewhere, with as little 
manual labor as possible. The sail-loft is also conveniently placed on 
the sea wall wharf with the same view, and underneath store room 
will be found sufficient for all the pitch, tar, turpentine, rosin, and oil, 
where they will be convenient to water carriage, as well as for extin- 
guishing those combustible articles should they accidentally take fire. 
On the opposite angle of the sea wall we have placed the building slips 
boat and mast houses, with the heavy blacksmithery, anchor, and tank 
foundries, castings, and plumberies, from whence all those heavy ap- 
purtenances for ships of war can be conveniently boated and transport- 
ed; and with a view to concentrate the necessary working fires as much 
as possible, we have located the cooper-shop, bake-house, and cook- 
house in the vicinity, with the accommodations for negro laborers, near 
the entrance gate, under the eye of the marine guard there stationed. 

The commissioners, in obedience to the farther instructions of the 
department, of August tenth, made a reconnoisance of the ground'^' 
contip^uous to the Navy Yard for a site for the marine barracks; and 
they find the ground to the right too unequal in its surftice, and too 
many water-pools on and about it, to answer that purpose. On the left, 
the ground is more favorable, and would present an eligible position 
stretching along the front of the bay, open and airy, with a pleasant 
water view; but here the ground is, in part, occupied with settlements 
under lease from the Government, which might not be conveniently or 
easily got rid of; in which case, there only remains the rear of the Na- 
vy Yard about five hundred feet in depth, with the same extent as the 
Navy Yard; which would afford ample room to erect all the necessary 
buildings, accommodations, gardens, and parade ground, that may at 
any time be found necessary. 

The commissioners, in compliance with your letter of August twen- 
tieth, have examined the two several places pointed out as eligible sites 
for a Navy Yard within this bay; that is to say, the Navy Cove, oppo- 
site the town of Pensacola, and a place above the town called Five Fa- 
thom Hole. The former, (Navy Cove,) the commissioners are of opin- 
ion would not answer the purpose at all, and is Hable to very many ob- 
jections; its location is beyond the reach of any immediate protection 
from the fortifications or their garrisons, for any small mihtary expedi- 
tion would be able to surprise it through the Santa Rosa sound; it is 
shut in from the advantages of the sea breezes, and, consequently, is 
excessively hot for laborers and mechanics; and, indeed, were those dis- 
advantages removed, the extent of the flats is too great to be overcome 
without very heavy expenditures. With respect to the latter, (Five 



44 

Fathom Hole,) the commissioners cannot discover any advantages over 
the present location to induce their recommending a change; ships 
there placed would be much exposed to the great range of easterly 
winds, which are the strongest that blow in this quarter; it is. also, at 
the head of the deep water in the bay, and will be that portion of it 
most likely to till up and shallow hereafter, when the surrounding 
country becomes cleared, cultivated, and liable to wash from the heavy 
rains of the summer season. 

All of which is most respectfully submitted, 

By your obedient servants, 

Charles Stewart, 
A. J. Dallas, 
W. C. Bolton, 

Commissioners. 
To Hon. Mahlon Dickerson, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington. 

During the stay of the Commodore at Pensacola, he made extensive 
notes, and observations, and shortly after his return to Philadelphia, he 
addressed the following letter to the Secretai-y of the Navy. 

Philadelphia, November 20, 1836. 

Sir: — In your instructions directed to me of the eighth of July last, 
relative to the plan for the construction of the navy yard at Pensacola, 
you direct that " All the buildings and improvements should be com- 
prised in the plan which at any future time would be necessary at that 
yard;" and that "an enlarged view should be taken of all the matters 
connected with it as a dock yard, or a building and repairing establish- 
ment." Having completed a plan for the improvements of the yard, 
and submitted it to you, I beg leave now to submit to you, also, some 
ideas which occurred to me in taking that enlarged view of this esta- 
blishment which your instructions seem to aim at. 

In studying the position of Pensacola, with reference not only to our 
own adjacent coast, and the great outlet of the Mississippi which it is 
so favorably placed to protect, but also to the neighboring countries of 
Mexico and the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and St. Domingo, which are 
all liable at some future period to be occupied by nations at enmity with 
the United States, the national importance of the place could not but 
force itself on my mind, and excite some surprise that it had not hitherto 
attracted more the attention of the Government. In evidence how lit- 
tle has as yet been done there, I may mention the fact, that the revenue 
schooner Dexter had to resort to Charleston to get her sides caulked, 
and a few other trifling repairs which she needed. Yet, at the same 
time that the great section of our country, of which Pensacola must 
hereafter become the naval depot, has been thus overlooked, we find 
large appropriations applied to the construction of navy yards in the 
middle and eastern states. Casual observers unacquainted with the 



45 

lukewarmness with which the development of our naval energies has 
been prosecuted, might naturally conclude that this disparity had its 
origin in an indifference to our true policy, or in sectional selfishness; or 
how else could they account for the extraordinary fact, that our whole 
seaboard from Norfolk to the Sabine, an extent of nearly two thousand 
miles, does not afford the means of even repairing a sloop of war; whilst 
to the north and east, in less than one thousand miles of coast, the 
means not only for repairs, but for construction, are so singularly multi- 
plied, that in the Chesapeake waters we have two — the navy yards at 
Norfolk and Washington; and in the bay of Massachusetts, two others 
— one at Portsmouth and one at Boston. There is great deficiency in 
the southern section of our country, as respects preparation for naval 
defence, where it may be most needed, to protect the rich and exube- 
rant region which has its outlet in the straits of Florida. In the event 
of war, every means would be wanting to afford a permanent protec- 
tion for its great and valuable products issuing forth through so many 
arteries, and now rendering all Europe tributary to us, and promoting 
the prosperity not only of the states which produce them, but at the 
same time the wealth, power, and aggrandizement of our whole Union. 
Through the Florida stream flow all the commerce and valuable pro- 
ductions of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. All the 
produce of these various states, except that of South Carolina and 
Georgia, must pass through the straits of Cape Florida, the only prac- 
ticable outlet of the great Gulf of Mexico, which is thus constituted 
for egress, a close sea, as much so as the Mediterranean, owing to the 
northeast trade wind which prevails to the south, and the island of Cuba 
and the Bahamas closing it on the east. 

All the states enumerated are highly interested in the establishment 
of an efficient naval depot within the Gulf of Mexico, embracing all 
the elements necessary for the repairs, construction, and equipment of 
ships of war, and the gradual acclimating of troops for southern ser- 
vice. 

By means of the strong current of the Gulf Stream, naval protec- 
tion could be afforded to Georgia and South Carolina, with as much 
facility and despatch from Pensacola as from any of our northern na- 
val stations; and, on the contrary, a naval force rendezvousing at Ports- 
mouth, Boston, New York, or Norfolk, would be as unavailable for our 
coast and commerce in the Gulf of Mexico, as a naval force at Brest 
or Cherbourg would be for the protection of the south of France and 
her commerce in the Mediterranean. Indeed, the ships of our northern 
ports would be still less available than the French ships under those cir- 
cumstances; for, owing to the circuitous navigation round the south of 
Cuba, which the strong currents of the Gulf of Florida render necessary, 
it would take from thirty to fifty days for a fleet to reach the Gulf of 
Mexico from any port on our north Atlantic coast. The Natchez 



46 

sloop of war, in which 1 took my passage in the fulfilment of the orders 
of the eighth of July last, took thirty-four days to get from New York 
to Fensacola; and the year preceding, the same ship was fifty-six days 
in conveying Commodore Dallas from New York to the same place. 

France situated precisely, with respect to the Mediterranean, as the 
United States are to the Gulf of Mexico, found it necessary to establish 
her great naval depot at Toulon; and Spain, with her establishment at 
Ferrol, and another at Cadiz, immediately by the straits of Gibraltar, 
could not protect her Mediterranean commerce, without another for- 
midable establishment at Carthagena. Thus must it be with the Uni- 
ted States. The Gulf of Mexico is our Mediterranean, and Fensaco- 
la will become our Toulon; also, at no distant period, some port on the 
coast of South Carolina or Georgia must furnish the same facifities as 
Cadiz, for the protection of the exterior mouth of the straits of Flor- 
ida. 

However inclined some may be to pass over this important question, 
it does appear to me, that if our Government be true to the purposes 
of its institution, they will accord ample protection to every section of 
our Union. The period for according this protection may be delayed, 
to the injury of our interests, and the dishonor of our national charac- 
ter; but it cannot be always avoided, for, in some future maritime war 
— such as, sooner or later, must take place, and which we may be en- 
gaged in — the productions of that vast empire, which has for its only 
outlet the straits of Florida, will be efifectually locked up, to the fatal 
injury of the country, or possibly to the dissolution of the Union. 

It is not probable that an enemy will hereafter ever attempt to make 
permanent conquest of any part of our territory; yet past experience 
has shown us with what facility, an inconsiderable military force, sus- 
tained by a naval one, could agitate our whole seaboard, harass the 
militia, burn our towns and plantations, and arrest entirely our com- 
merce and coasting trade, for the want of adequate means of defence, 
proportioned to the resources and real power of our country. At a 
later period, we have seen with what facility a handful of pirates, with- 
out territorial protection, skulking into and out of the harbors of the 
neighboring islands, could pillage and destroy our vessels trading to the 
Carribean and Mexican seas, and sacrifice the lives of our citizens 
with relentless barbarity. 

Foreign powers, with whom we are liable, from conflicting interests, 
to be brought into collision, border on our territory, and occupy a chain 
of formidable posts, stretching along and overlooking our whole southern 
coast — such as Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba, Burmudas and the Bahamas; 
some of which are maintained at great expense, and might be the ren- 
dezvous for future means of annoyance and attack of our territory and 
commerce. 

The Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida, constituting as they do 
the outlet of so many productions of a rich and valuable nature, thus 



47 

surrounded by various nations, bid fair- to be the scenes of much future 
contention. Our own interests in that quarter are of immense and ra- 
pidly increasing value, and which being thus open to assault, it appears 
to me it would be a wise policy in our Government to provide the 
arsenals and establishments for ships of war necessary to the protec- 
tion of our vast interests in that sea, and thus prevent its falling a prey 
to the rapacious grasp of future belligerants, as well as to avoid the 
necessity of our ships of war navigating (perhaps in a crippled condi- 
tion) a dangerous coast of such extent, to procure the necessary repairs 
and refit, from the destruction of battle, the disasters of the elements, 
and the decay incident to our vessels, and subject to great loss of time 
in going from and returning to their stations at the south. 

The new principles of European policy and reform in relation to 
their American colonies, aided by the fanatics spread over our own 
country, exciting an insurrectionary spirit among a numerous class of 
our south-western population, together with the cupidity which the rich 
productions of that country are calculated to create, seem to admonish 
us not to trust too far to our own peaceful habits and passive disposi- 
tion, but to apply all the means in the possession of the Government 
for the permanent defence of that interesting portion of the Union. 

If these impressions are just, it appears to me of the greatest impor- 
tance that the construction of the dock and navy yard at Pensacola, 
should be pushed on with all possible despatch; and that the navy 
should obtain there every essential to its efliciency; and the Govern- 
ment and country should find at that place, on the first emergency, all 
the means of defence for the coast and its commerce. The best har- 
bor in the Gulf of Mexico, accessible at all seasons of the year, enjoy- 
ing an exemption from tropical diseases, and a mild climate, nature 
seems to have formed it for the great naval depot and rendezvous for 
our ships destined to protect the Mexican seas. This harbor admits, 
■with facility of ingress and egress, the largest sloops of war and mer- 
chant ships; but this will not be "adequate to the future wants of the 
nation in the Gulf of Mexico. The deepening of the bar, or entrance, 
so as to admit vessels of the largest class, is essential to that port, and 
is an experiment well worth trying. Should, however, the experiment 
fail, a new channel could be cut through the island of St. Rosa, which 
I should think, would not be a work of much difficulty, as the island is 
very narrow, and has deep water close to the shore on the sea side. 

The abundance of the finest timber for the construction and repair- 
ing of vessels of war, which grows on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, 
and immediately in the neighborhood of Pensacola, which now has to 
be transported to the northern navy yards at a great expense and labor, 
added to the facilities which the internal improvements in a state of 
progress in that country will afford for the transportation of every ma- 
terial for fleets of war, constitutes a strong reason for the early eslab- 



48 

lishment of a school of workmen and mechanics, so essential to the 
ends proposed, of meeting "any future wants at that place," and de- 
veloping its utility as a naval depot and rendezvous for the ships of 
war. 

Considering the exposed state of this section of our Union from the 
causes before enumerated, and that the Gulf of Mexico and its outlet 
(the Straits of Florida,) is our vulnerable point, through which flows so 
large a portion of our national wealth, no time ought to be lost in ren- 
dering Pensacola the key to, and the defence of, the Mexican seas. 

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, sir, your most obedient 
servant, 

Charles Stewart. 
To the Hon. Mahlon Dickerson, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

On the first of July, 1837, Commodore James Barron resigned the 
command of the Navy Yard, at Philadelphia, and Commodore Stewart 
was placed in command of that establishment. 

By the most strenuous exertions. Commodore Stewart succeeded in 
launching the line-of-battle-ship Pennsylvania, on the eighteenth day 
of July. This ship, not only the largest in our navy, but the most mag- 
nificent in point of model and construction, was ordered by the Secre- 
tary of the Navy to be removed from Philadelphia to Norfolk, to he 
coppered, and Commodore Stewart was appointed to equip and tate 
her to that place for the purpose. 

The order of the Secretary of the Navy to transfer the Pennsylvania 
to another place to be coppered, produced a deep and universal dissat- 
isfaction among the citizens of Philadelphia, and indeed of the whole 
State. 

Large and spirited public meetings were convened to remonstrate 
against the measure, and to urge upon the Executive, the necessity of 
having her completed in the yard where her keel was laid. 

In this just state pride of his fellow^ citizens, Commodore Stewart 
warmly participated; but the determination of the Department was ir- 
reversable, and he yielded with regret to the fiat of the department, 
which took from the State of Pennsylvania the honor of giving the fin- 
ishing stroke to the noble ship that bears her own name. 

The want of a dry dock at Philadelphia, was the alleged ground of 
justification for this procedure, and called the immediate attention of 
Commodore Stewart to this important appendage of a complete navy 
yard at this city. 

The commercial importance of Philadelphia, its facilities for procu- 
ring timbers and other materials for building and repairing ships, and 
its central location, all combined to force on his mind the propriety of 
recommending the establishment of a dry dock, and enlisted the utmost 



49 

energies of almost all the public men and people of Pennsylvania in 
support of the measure. 

As the Commodore enters into the matter with his characteristic 
vigor, it is hoped that in a short time this salutary object will be attain- 
ed, and all agree that it will materially contribute to the benefit of the 
many industrious mechanics and laborers who will thus find employ- 
ment, and to the advancement of the commercial interests and prosperi- 
ty of his native city, as well as to the naval resources and strength of 
the country. 

Should this undertaking prove successful, it will stand a monument, 
as enduring as the "right angled city" itself, commemorative of the pub- 
lic spirit and devotion to the navy, which have ever distinguished his 
career. 

Commodore Stewart is about five feet nine inches in height, erect 
and well proportioned, of a dignified and engaging presence, and pos- 
sessed of "-reat constitutional powers to endure hardships and privations 
of all kinds. Although fifty-nine years of age, he is still as active as if he 
was but in the prime of life. His complexion is fair, hke that of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, but bears the weather beaten marks of naval service. His hair 
is of a chesnut color; his eyes blue, large, penetrating, and intelligent. 
The cast of his countenance is Roman, bold, strong, and commanding, 
and his head finely formed. It has been pronounced by a phrenologist, 
the head of a man of great vigor and mind, high sense of justice, and 
inflexible resolution of purpose. It is well known that his character 
corresponds perfectly with these indications. 

His mind is acute and powerful, grasping the greatest or smallest 
subjects with the intuitive mastery of genius. He not only fully under- 
stands his profession as a naval commander, but all the various interests 
of commerce, the foreign and domestic policy of his country, the prin- 
ciples of government, and the " law of nations," are as familiar to him as 
" household words." 

Let any person consult his numerous official letters and reports, em- 
bracing a wide range of subjects ; or sit down and converse with him 
upon the political and social relations of our country, its internal resour- 
ces, and the true policy of developing them, and he will be astonished 
at the extent and accuracy of his information. Often has the question 
been asked, how did this man, amidst the rapid events of a life spent in 
the active service of his country, acquire so much useful knowledge 
beyond the apparent line of his profession? The answer is, — Commo- 
dore Stewart has always been an observer, a reader, and a thinker. — 
Nothing has escaped his vigilant attention. He has devoted himself to 
the service of his country, and he holds that whoever would serve his 
country well, should understand its government, its laws, and its 
interests, in order to uphold, represent, and sustain them. 

His control over his passions is truly surprising, and under the most 
irritating circumstances, his oldest seamen have never yet seen a ray of 
7 



» 50 

anger flash from his eye. His kindness, benevolence, and humanity are 
proverbial amongst those who know him, but his sense of justice and re- 
quisitions of duty are as unbending as fate. 

That this is not the strained language of panegyric, recur to the 
account, in the preceding sketch, of his noble rescue of the women and 
children from a watery grave, for proof of his humanity. Recur to his 
invention of our cannon sights, an event which added so much to our 
superiority in gunnery, for proof of his mechanical genius. Recur to 
his able and masterly letter to General Sucre, among many others, the 
principles of which have now become the guide and rule of our govern- 
ment, on the subject of blockades, for a proof of his knowledge of the 
Law of Nations. Recur to the magnanimous stand taken by him in 
conjunction with Commodore Bainbridge, on the employment of the 
navy at the outset of the war, for proof of his chivalric patriotism ; to 
which circumstances alone are justly attributable — according to the 
Secretary of the Navy — our glorious victories on the ocean, victories 
which covered the flag of the nation with imperishable honor, and 
inspired the drooping hearts of our countrymen with that confidence 
and valor which enabled them to vanquish the foe, wherever they met 
him on sea or land. Recur for proof of his skill and bravery to the 
many actions in which he fought and commanded, and especially to his 
victory over the Cyane and Levant, a victory unprecedented in naval 
history, by which he reduced to practice his own prior theory, that one 
large ship could capture two ships of combined superior force.* 

Recur to his numerous reports to the Navy Department, and to the 
President of the United States, at different periods, for proof of his inti- 
mate and comprehensive acquaintance with the domestic policy and 
interest of his country ; and, if farther proof be needed of his ability and 
patriotism in the service of his country, every President, from Mr. Jef- 
ferson down to Mr. Van Buren, has conferred upon him his emphatic 
approbation, and some testimony to his satisfactory discharge of every 
duty. 

Such is a brief outline of the character of Commodore Stewart, a son 
of whom Pennsylvania, as well as the entire Union, has just reason to 
be proud. His counsels and his services have contributed so much to 
the glory of the Navy, that they must be gratefully remembered, as long 
as the star spangled banner affords protection against foreign aggression 
to those over whom it floats, and is honored and respected throughout 
the world. 

Long may he live to serve his country, and to behold the navy, with 
which he has been so long and so honorably associated, hoist her flag in 
every breeze, and protect her commerce and her rights on every sea. 

• See his Letter, twelfth of November, 1812, to the Secretary of the Navy. 

W 73 





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